Method and device for producing laminated composite

ABSTRACT

A polyolefin resin drawn sheet  4  is laminated on at least one face of a sheet-form core material  6  having a density of 30 to 300 kgf/m 3 . At this time, a sheet or film  5  made of a bonding synthetic resin or rubber having a flow starting temperature lower than the thermal deformation temperature of the core material 6 and the melting point of the drawn sheet  4  is interposed between the core material  6  and the drawn sheet  4.  The resultant stack product is heated to not less than the flow starting temperature of the synthetic resin or the rubber and not more than the thermal deformation temperature of the core material  6  and the melting point of the drawn sheet  4.  At the same time of or after the heating, the stack product is pressed to apply a compression strain of 0.01 to 10% to the core material  6.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a method and a device for producing alaminated composite which is used as a civil engineering andconstruction material, a construction material including a tatami matcore material, a material for vehicles and so on, and has a highrigidity, and more specifically to a device and a method for producing alaminated composite which is suitable, for example, when a polyolefinresin drawn sheet is laminated on at least one face of a sheet-form corematerial having a density of 30 to 300 kg/m³, or when a longitudinalsheet and a lateral sheet are laminated on at least one face of a corematerial.

Throughout the present specification, longitudinal and lateraldirections are defined on the basis of the direction of a core material.The term “longitudinal” means the length direction of a core material,and the term “lateral” means the width direction of the core material. Alongitudinal sheet means a sheet supplied in the length direction of acore material, and a lateral sheet means a sheet supplied in the widthdirection of the core material.

BACKGROUND ART

For a civil engineering and construction material, a constructionmaterial including a tatami mat core material, a material for vehicles,and the like, the so-called sandwich structure in which a plastic foamedbody is used as a light core material and high-strength face materialsare laminated on both surfaces thereof, has been actively developed as amaterial instead of a woody board which has been conventionally used.For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-134913 (1994)describes a laminated product wherein a polypropylene foamed body sheetis sandwiched between glass fiber reinforced polypropylene type resinlayers, and also describes, as a method for producing the same, a methodof heating a glass fiber reinforced polypropylene layer to not less thanthe melting point thereof to be made into a melting state, stacking thiswith a surface of a foamed body sheet, adhering them to each other tomelt the surface of the foamed body sheet with heat which thepolypropylene layer has, thereby melting and adhering the two to eachother, and subsequently cooling and solidifying the two so as to beintegrated with each other.

The present inventors advanced the development of a sandwich structureas described above. As a result, the inventors suggested a compositelamination wherein a reinforcing face material made of a polyolefinresin drawn sheet drawn up 10 times or more is laminated on a polyolefinresin foamed body sheet (an example of a sheet-form core material havinga density of 30 to 300 kg/M³) (Japanese Patent Application No.2001-13553). This composite lamination has the following advantages ascompared with the product described in Japanese Unexamined PatentPublication No. 6-134913 (1994):

-   -   Since no glass fiber is used, the lamination is friendly to        working environment and friendly to use environment;    -   Since the material thereof is made only of the polyolefin resin,        the lamination can be re-melted or re-worked and can be        recycled; and    -   The composite lamination deforms plastically in a certain        bending strain area, and the shape thereof is kept.

However, if the reinforcing face material is heated to the melting pointthereof or higher in order to attempt the production of this compositelamination by the method described in Japanese Unexamined PatentPublication No. 6-134913 (1994), the drawn orientation of the moleculesis lost since the reinforcing face material is made of the polyolefinresin drawn sheet. As a result, desired flexural-rigidity and linearexpansion property cannot be obtained.

The laminating described above is usually controlled bylaminating-pressure. However, the compression property of the foamedbody varies dependently on laminating-temperature; therefore, it isnecessary to change the laminating-pressure dependently on thetemperature. Furthermore, a problem that the thickness of manufacturedproduct is scattered arises.

In recent years, in the field of house design, attention has been paidto the so-called barrier-free housing, wherein no step is presentbetween a Japanese-style room and a Western-style room, as housing of acompromise type between Japanese and Western styles. However,conventional tatami mats (thick tatami mats) used in Japanese-stylerooms have a thickness of approximately 55 mm; therefore, in order toremove a step between a Japanese-style room and a Western-style roomusing flooring materials for western-style rooms, the main currentthickness of which is from approximately 5 to 20 mm, it is necessary totake measures in construction work, for example, lower the ground-beamsleeper of the Japanese-style room or increase the bulk of a floor bedof the Western room. Thus, a problem that construction work becomes muchcomplicated is involved.

In order to cope with the above-mentioned problem, in recent years thintatami mats having a thickness of approximately 7 to 25 mm have beencommercially available instead of the conventional thick tatami mats.The thin tatami mats have advantages that application thereof is easyand exchange between a Japanese-style room and a Western-style room caneasily be performed.

The performance required for the tatami mat material for thin tatamimats is that the material has flexural-rigidity even if the material isthin, and the linear expansion coefficient thereof is as small aspossible. Specifically, as described in the specification of JapanesePatent Application No.13-33990 (2001), a tatami mat core material madeof a laminated composite satisfying the above-mentioned requirements canbe produced by laminating a sheet, for a face material, made of apolyolefin resin drawn sheet having a linear expansion coefficient of5×10⁻⁵ (1/° C.) or less on at least one face of a core material made ofa polyolefin foamed body sheet in which cells extend in a spindle formin the thickness direction.

In order to exhibit the performance of the above-mentioned laminatedcomposite at maximum, it is preferred to cross sheets for a facematerial which laminate on a surface of a core material (C) in thelongitudinal direction and in the lateral direction, as illustrated inFIG. 4. This is because the face material is composed of longitudinalsheets (S1) and lateral sheets (S2) in an orthogonal form in this way,whereby anisotropy in the longitudinal direction and the lateraldirection is cancelled.

In order to laminate sheets for a face material, in a longitudinally andlaterally orthogonal-form, beforehand on a core material, it has beennecessary in the conventional art to set longitudinal sheets and lateralsheets in an orthogonal form on a surface of the core material and thenthermally melt and adhere them with a press or bond them with anadhesive agent. In this method, however, the operation for producing thelamination is intermittent; therefore, the speed of the production issmall and a large amount of scrap material is generated and productionefficiency is low, thereby resulting in high costs.

In light of the problems in the conventional art, an object of thepresent invention is to provide a method for producing a compositelamination using no inorganic fiber such as glass fiber without damagingthe performance of a polyolefin resin drawn sheet and with a highthickness precision.

In light of the problems in the conventional art, another object of thepresent invention is to provide a device and a method which make itpossible to continuously perform an operation for laminating sheets, fora face material, in a longitudinally and laterally orthogonal form on acore material and to produce a tatami core material made of a laminatedcomposite with a high production efficiency.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The invention of claim 1 is a method for producing a laminated compositeby laminating a polyolefin resin drawn sheet on at least one face of asheet-form core material having a density of 30 to 300 kg/m³, including:

-   -   interposing, between the core material and the drawn sheet, a        bonding synthetic resin or rubber having a flow starting        temperature lower than the thermal deformation temperature of        the core material and the melting point of the drawn sheet;        heating the synthetic resin or the rubber to not less than the        flow starting temperature and not more than the thermal        deformation temperature of the core material and the melting        point of the drawn sheet before or after the three materials are        stacked into a stack product; and pressing the stack product to        apply a compression strain of 0.01 to 10% to the core material        at the same time of or after the heating.

The invention of claim 2 is a method for producing a laminated compositeby laminating a polyolefin resin drawn sheet on at least one face of asheet-form core material having a density of 30 to 300 kg/m³, including:

interposing, between the core material and the drawn sheet, a sheet or afilm made of a bonding synthetic resin or rubber having a flow startingtemperature lower than the thermal deformation temperature of the corematerial and the melting point of the drawn sheet; heating the resultantstack product to not less than the flow starting temperature of thesynthetic resin or the rubber and not more than the thermal deformationtemperature of the core material and the melting point of the drawnsheet; and pressing the stack product to apply a compression strain of0.01 to 10% to the core material at the same time of or after theheating.

The invention of claim 3 is a method for producing a laminated compositeby laminating a polyolefin resin drawn sheet on at least one face of asheet-form core material having a density of 30 to 300 kg/m³, including:

-   -   coating or impregnating a face to be bonded of the core material        and/or the drawn sheet with a bonding synthetic resin or rubber        having a flow starting temperature lower than the thermal        deformation temperature of the core material and the melting        point of the drawn-sheet; heating the synthetic resin or the        rubber to not less than the flow starting temperature thereof        and not more than the thermal deformation temperature of the        core material and the melting point of the drawn sheet before or        after the core material and the drawn sheet are stacked into a        stack product; and pressing the stack product to apply a        compression strain of 0.01 to 10% to the core material at the        same time of or after the heating.

The invention of claim 4 is a method for producing a laminated compositeby laminating a polyolefin resin drawn sheet on at least one face of asheet-form core material having a density of 30 to 300 kg/m³, including:

-   -   coating or impregnating a face to be bonded of the core material        and/or the drawn sheet with a bonding synthetic resin or rubber        having a flow starting temperature lower than the thermal        deformation temperature of the core material and the melting        point of the drawn sheet; stacking the core material and the        drawn sheet into a stack product so as to contact each other in        the coated face or impregnated face; heating the resultant stack        product to not less than the flow starting temperature of the        synthetic resin or the rubber and not more than the thermal        deformation temperature of the core material and the melting        point of the drawn sheet; and pressing the stack product to        apply a compression strain of 0.01 to 10% to the core material        at the same time of or after the heating.

The invention of claim 5 is the method for producing a laminatedcomposite according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein when the shrinkagestarting temperature of the drawn sheet at the time of the heating islower than the heating temperature at the time of the laminating, thelaminating is performed while a tension of 0.1 to 3 kgf/1 cm-width isapplied to the sheet in the orientation direction of the sheet.

The invention of claim 6 is the method for producing a laminatedcomposite according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the drawmagnification of the sheet is from 5 to 40 times.

The invention of claim 7 is the method for producing a laminatedcomposite according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the core materialis a resin foamed body in which the average of aspect ratios (Dz/Dxy) ofcells is from 1.1 to 4.0.

The invention of claim 8 is the method for producing a laminatedcomposite according to any of claims 1 to 7, wherein as the polyolefinresin drawn sheet, there is used a drawn sheet having a face to bebonded being at least locally heated and melted at a temperature higherthan the melting point of the resin by 10° C. or more or beingroughened.

The invention of claim 9 is a device for producing a laminated compositeby laminating a longitudinal sheet and a lateral sheet on at least oneface of a core material, including: a core supplying means for supplyingthe core material in a longitudinal direction; a longitudinal sheetsupplying means for supplying the longitudinal sheet for a face materialin the longitudinal direction onto at least one face of the corematerial; a lateral sheet supplying means for supplying the lateralsheet for the face material in a lateral direction onto the upper orlower face of the longitudinal sheet; and a sheetthermocompression-bonding means for pressing the longitudinal sheet andthe lateral sheet stacked in an orthogonal form against the corematerial under heating.

The invention of claim 10 is a method for producing a laminatedcomposite by laminating a longitudinal sheet and a lateral sheet on atleast one face of a core material, including: a core supplying step ofsupplying the core material in a longitudinal direction, a longitudinalsheet supplying step of supplying the longitudinal sheet for a facematerial in the longitudinal direction onto at least one face of thecore material; a lateral sheet supplying step of supplying the lateralsheet for the face material in a lateral direction onto the upper orlower face of the longitudinal sheet; and a sheetthermocompression-bonding step of pressing the longitudinal sheet andthe lateral sheet stacked in an orthogonal form against the corematerial under heating.

The invention of claim 11 is the device for producing a laminatedcomposite according to claim 9, wherein at a position where thelongitudinal sheet starts to contact a heating roll of the sheetthermocompression-bonding means the lateral sheet supplying meanssupplies a cut piece of the lateral sheet between the heating roll andthe longitudinal sheet.

The invention of claim 12 is the method for producing a laminatedcomposite according to claim 10, further including: a lateral sheetsupplying step of supplying a cut piece of the lateral sheet between aheating roll and the longitudinal sheet at a position where thelongitudinal sheet starts to contact the heating roll during the sheetthermocompression-bonding step.

The invention of claim 13 is the device for producing a laminatedcomposite according to claim 9 or 11, wherein the longitudinal sheetsupplying means is a means for supplying upper side longitudinal sheetsand lower side longitudinal sheets to be arranged alternatively in thelateral direction, and the lateral sheet supplying means is a means forsupplying plural lateral sheets successively between the upper sidelongitudinal sheets and the lower side longitudinal sheets so as to bearranged in parallel.

The invention of claim 14 is the method for producing a laminatedcomposite according to claim 10 or 12, wherein the longitudinal sheetsupplying step is a step of supplying upper side longitudinal sheets andlower side longitudinal sheets to be arranged alternatively in thelateral direction, and the lateral sheet supplying step is a step ofsupplying plural lateral sheets successively between the upper sidelongitudinal sheets and the lower side longitudinal sheets so as to bearranged in parallel.

The invention of claim 15 is the device for producing a laminatedcomposite according to claim 9, 11 or 13, wherein the lateral sheetsupplying means includes an attracting roll set at a position where thelongitudinal sheet starts to contact the heating roll of the sheetthermocompression-bonding means, and single sheet supplying means forsupplying cut pieces of the lateral sheet one by one to the attractingroll.

The invention of claim 16 is the method for producing a laminatedcomposite according to claim 10, 12 or 14, wherein the lateral sheetsupplying step includes a single sheet supplying step of supplying cutpieces of the lateral sheet one by one to an attracting roll set at aposition where the longitudinal sheet starts to contact the heating rollduring the sheet thermocompression-bonding step.

The invention of claim 17 is a device producing a laminated composite bylaminating a longitudinal sheet and a lateral sheet on at least one faceof a core material, including: a core material supplying means forsupplying the core material in a longitudinal direction; a longitudinalsheet supplying means for supplying the longitudinal sheet for a facematerial, in the longitudinal direction, onto at least one face of thecore material; a first thermocompression-bonding means for pressing thelongitudinal sheet and the core material under heating to form anintermediate lamination; a first cutting means for cutting theintermediate lamination; a carrying means for carrying cut pieces of theintermediate lamination in a direction having a given angle to thelongitudinal direction; a lateral sheet supplying means for supplyingthe lateral sheet for the face material, in the carriage direction, ontothe upper face or the lower face of the cut pieces; a secondthermocompression-bonding means for pressing the cut pieces of theintermediate lamination and the lateral sheet, which are stacked, underheating to form a final lamination; and a second cutting means forcutting the final lamination.

The invention of claim 18 is a method for producing a laminatedcomposite by laminating a longitudinal sheet and a lateral sheet on atleast one face of a core material, including: a core material supplyingstep of supplying the core material in a longitudinal direction; alongitudinal sheet supplying step of supplying the longitudinal sheetfor a face material, in the longitudinal direction, onto at least oneface of the core material; a first thermocompression-bonding step ofpressing the longitudinal sheet and the core material under heating toform an intermediate lamination; a first cutting step of cutting theintermediate lamination; a carrying step of carrying cut pieces of theintermediate lamination in a direction having a given angle to thelongitudinal direction; a lateral sheet supplying step of supplying thelateral sheet for the face material, in the carriage direction, onto theupper face or the lower face of the cut pieces; a secondthermocompression-bonding step of stacking and pressing the cut piecesof the intermediate lamination and the lateral sheet under heating toform a final lamination; and a second cutting step of cutting the finallamination.

The invention of claim 19 is a device for producing a laminatedcomposite by laminating a longitudinal sheet and a lateral sheet on atleast one face of a core material, including: a core material supplyingmeans for supplying the core material in a longitudinal direction; alongitudinal sheet supplying means for supplying the longitudinal sheetfor a face material, in the longitudinal direction, onto at least oneface of the core material; a first thermocompression-bonding means forpressing the longitudinal sheet and the core material under heating toform an intermediate lamination; a first cutting means for cutting theintermediate lamination; a carrying means for rotating cut pieces of theintermediate lamination at an angle of 900 to carry the cut pieces inthe longitudinal direction; a lateral sheet supplying means forsupplying the lateral sheet for the face material, in the longitudinaldirection, onto the upper face or the lower face of the cut pieces; asecond thermocompression-bonding means for pressing the cut pieces ofthe intermediate lamination and the lateral sheet, which are stacked,under heating to form a final lamination; and a second cutting means forcutting the final lamination.

The invention of claim 20 is a method for producing a laminatedcomposite by laminating a longitudinal sheet and a lateral sheet on atleast one face of a core material, including: a core material supplyingstep of supplying the core material in a longitudinal direction; alongitudinal sheet supplying step of supplying the longitudinal sheetfor a face material, in the longitudinal direction., onto at least oneface of the core material; a first thermocompression-bonding step ofpressing the longitudinal sheet and the core material under heating toform an intermediate lamination; a first cutting step of cutting theintermediate lamination; a carrying step of rotating cut pieces of theintermediate lamination at an angle of 900 to carry the cut pieces inthe longitudinal direction; a lateral sheet supplying step of supplyingthe lateral sheet for the face material, in the longitudinal direction,onto the upper face or the lower face of the cut pieces; a secondthermocompression-bonding step of stacking and pressing the cut piecesof the intermediate lamination and the lateral sheet under heating toform a final lamination; and a second cutting step of cutting the finallamination.

The inventions of claims 1 to 8 are carried out as the followingembodiments.

First, the sheet-form core material having a density of 30 to 300 kg/m³,which constitutes the composite lamination according to the presentinvention, will be described.

The sheet-form core material having a density of 30 to 300 kg/³ is madeof, for example, a foamed body obtained by expanding a resin sheet, ahollow body such as plastic corrugated cardboard, or a honeycombstructure.

The reason why the density is from 30 to 300 kg/m³ is that: if thedensity is over 300kg/m³, the effect of making the laminated compositelight is small; and if the density is less than 30 kg/m³, requiredstrength cannot be obtained.

In general, the thickness of the sheet-form core material is set to 1 to40 mm. If the thickness is over 40 mm, mechanical properties of thecomposite lamination lower unfavorably. If the thickness is less than 1mm, the occupation ratio of the laminated polyolefin sheet becomes largeand it cannot be expected to make the laminated composite light. Thethickness of the core material is preferably from 3 to 20 mm.

The material used in the formation of the core material is thermoplasticresin, thermosetting resin, paper, metal, or the like.

Examples of the thermoplastic resin include polyolefin resin,polystyrene resin, ABS resin, vinyl chloride resin, vinyl chloridecopolymer, vinylidene chloride resin, polyamide resin, polycarbonateresin, polyethylene terephthalate resin, polyimide resin, andpolyurethane resin. These may be used alone or in combination of two ormore thereof.

Examples of the thermosetting resin include urethane resin, unsaturatedpolyester resin, epoxy resin, phenol resin, melamine resin, urea resin,diallylphthalate resin, and xylene resin.

The material which makes the honeycomb may be paper or metal such asaluminum besides thermoplastic resin or thermosetting resin.

Among the above-mentioned materials, thermoplastic resin is morepreferred as the material of the core material. The core material madeof thermoplastic resin is advantageous for recycle since it can bereworked by being remelted. Particularly preferred is a core materialmade of polyolefin resin. When polyolefin resin is also used as thematerial of a reinforcing sheet, recycle can be easily attained.

As the core material having a density of 30 to 300 kg/m³, a foamed bodymade of polyolefin resin is most preferred; therefore, the presentinvention will be described in detail, giving a polyolefin resin foamedbody as an example.

The kind of polyolefin resin is not particularly limited if it is madeof a homopolymer of a monomer, or a copolymer. For example, thefollowing can be preferably used: polyethylenes such as low densitypolyethylene, high density polyethylene, and linear low densitypolyethylene; polypropylenes such as propylene homopolymer, propylenerandom polymer, and propylene block polymer; polybutene; and copolymersmade mainly of ethylene, such as ethylene-propylene copolymer,ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer, ethylene-butene copolymer,ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, and ethylene-acrylate copolymer.Polyethylene and polypropylene are particularly preferably used. Thesepolyolefin resins may be used alone or in combination of two or morethereof.

The above-mentioned polyolefin resin may be a polyolefin resincomposition in which to polyolefin resin is added less than 30% byweight of a resin different therefrom is added. The kind of thedifferent resin is not particularly limited, and examples thereofinclude polystyrene and styrene type elastomers. These different resinsmay be used alone or in combination of two or more thereof.

If the amount of the different resin added to polyolefin resin is 30% byweight or more, superior properties that polyolefin resin has, such aslightness, chemical resistance, flexibility, and elasticity, maybedamaged. It maybe difficult to ensure melting viscosity necessary whenthe composition foams.

Furthermore, the above-mentioned polyolefin resin may be a polyolefinresin composition to which a modifying monomer is added. The kind of themodifying monomer is not particularly limited, and examples thereofinclude dioxime compounds, bismaleimide compounds, divinylbenzene,allyl-based polyfunctional monomers, (meth)acrylic polyfunctionalmonomers, and quinine compounds. These modifying-monomers may be usedalone or in combination of two or more thereof.

In general, polyolefin resin has a low elasticity modulus. When theresin is made up to a foamed body, the foamed body has a low compressionelasticity modulus, and is weak for the core material of a laminatedcomposite. Therefore, the resin has a problem that the expansion ratiothereof cannot be raised to a necessary value. However, this problem canbe solved by orienting the shape of foams in the foamed body into aspindle shape along the thickness direction. Specifically, the averagevalue of the aspect ratios (Dz/Dxy) of cells (foams) is from 1.1 to 4.0,preferably from 1.3 to 2.5.

FIG. 1(a) is a perspective view illustrating a foamed body sheet as asheet-form core material, and FIG. 1(b) is an enlarged view of an Aportion in FIG. 1(a). The average value of the aspect ratios (Dz/Dxy)means the number (arithmetic) average of the ratios between the maximumdiameters in given directions of cells (204) inside a foamed body sheet(201), and can be measured by a method described below.

Method of Measuring the Average Value of the Aspect Ratios (Dz/Dxy):

An enlarged photograph is taken of an arbitrary section (201 a) parallelto the sheet thickness direction (called the z direction) of the foamedbody sheet (201) with 10 magnifications. Approximately 50 or more cells(204) selected at random, the decided-direction maximum diametersthereof are measured in two directions described below. The number(arithmetic) average of the respective aspect ratios (Dz/Dxy) iscalculated.

Dz: the maximum diameter parallel to the Z direction of the cells (204)in the foamed body sheet (201), and

Dxy: the maximum diameter parallel to the plane direction (called the xydirection) perpendicular to the z direction of the cells (204) in thefoamed body sheet (201) (for example, the sheet width direction or thesheet length direction).

By setting the average value of the aspect ratios (Dz/Dxy) to 1.1 to 4.0(preferably, 1.3 to 2.5), the cells (204) in the foamed body sheet (201)become spindle-shaped cells (204) having a long axis along the thicknessdirection of the foamed body sheet (201). Accordingly, in the case thatthe foamed body sheet (201) receives compressive force in the thicknessdirection, the compressive force is applied to the spindle-shaped cells(204) along the long axis thereof. Therefore, the foamed body sheet(201) can exhibit a high compressive strength (compressive elasticitymodule) in the thickness direction.

If the average value of the aspect ratios (Dz/Dxy) is less than 1.1, theshape of the cells (204) becomes spherical so that the effect ofimproving the compressive strength (compressive elasticity module)resulting from the spindle-shaped cells (204) cannot be sufficientlyobtained. Therefore, the flexural-rigidity of the composite lamination,which is a target of the present invention, gets small. Contrarily, ifthe average value of the aspect ratios (Dz/Dxy) is more than 4.0, thefoaming resin receives a considerable quantity of extension strain onlyin the z direction so that the control of foaming becomes difficult. Asa result, a homogeneous foamed body sheet is not easily produced.

The density of the foamed body sheet is preferably from 30 to 300 kg/m³.If the density exceeds 300 kg/m³, the weight of the target compositelamination gets large and the cost thereof becomes high. Thus, thepracticability thereof deteriorates. Contrarily, if the density of thefoamed body sheet is less than 30 kg/m³, the thickness of the cell wallsgets small so that the compressive force (compressive elasticitymodulus) becomes insufficient.

Method of Measuring the Density:

A sample is cut out from the foamed body sheet with a cutter, and thenthe weight of the sample is measured.

Next, the volume thereof is measured with a buoyancy gauge, and thedensity is calculated on the basis of the weight/the volume.

The method for producing a foamed body sheet having spindle-shaped cellsas described above is not particularly limited. From the standpoint ofrecycle ability and productivity, the following method can be preferablyused.

In general, a foamed body made of a polyolefin resin composition isroughly classified into a foamed body obtained by a chemically foamingmethod and a foamed body obtained by a physical foaming method. In thepresent invention, any one of the two foamed bodies may be used.Preferably, the foamed body obtained by a chemically foaming method,which is easy in foaming operation thereof, is used.

The foamed body sheet by a chemically foaming method can be produced bydispersing a thermolysis type chemically foaming agent, which generatesdecomposition gas by heating, in the polyolefin resin compositionbeforehand, shaping the same composition once into a sheet-form foamingoriginal fiber, and subsequently heating the fiber to cause thepolyolefin resin composition to foam by gas generated from the foamingagent.

The kind of the thermolysis type chemically foaming agent is notparticularly limited. For example, the following is preferably used:azodicarbonic amide (ADCA), benzenesulfonylhydrazide,dinitrosopentamethylenetetramine, toluenesulfonylhydrazide,4,4-oxybis(benzenesulfonylhydrazide) or the like. Among these compounds,ADCA is more preferred. These thermolysis type chemically foaming agentsmay be used alone or in combination of two or more thereof.

The foamed body sheet by a physical foaming method can be produced bydissolving a physically foaming agent once in the polyolefin resincomposition under a high pressure, and causing the polyolefin resincomposition to foam by gas generated when the temperature of the samecomposition is returned to ambient temperature.

The kind of the physically foaming agent is not particularly limited.For example, water, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, an organic solvent or thelike is preferably used. These physically foaming agents may be usedalone or in combination of two or more thereof.

Specific methods for producing the foamed body sheet are as follows. To100 parts by weight of a modified polyolefin resin component obtained bymelting and kneading the polyolefin resin as a main component, theabove-mentioned modifying monomer, and the different resin are added 2to 20 parts by weight of the above-mentioned thermolysis type chemicallyfoaming agent, and then the respective components are dispersed. Thecomposition is once shaped into a sheet-form to produce a foaming sheet.Thereafter, this foaming sheet is heated to a temperature not less thanthe decomposition temperature of the thermolysis type chemically foamingagent so as to cause the sheet to foam. By adopting this method, adesired foamed body sheet can be formed.

By modifying the polyolefin resin with the modifying monomer, the shapedfoaming sheet can foam under normal pressure although the sheet has alow crosslinking degree. The crosslinking degree referred to hereinmeans a gel fraction. The term “the crosslinking degree is low” meansthat the gel fraction is 25% or less by weight. The gel fraction can beobtained as a percentage of the dry weight of a non-dissolved fraction(a gel fraction) after a sample is dissolved in hot xylene of 120° C.temperature for 24 hours in the initial weight of the sample.

The above-mentioned foaming sheet has a lower crosslinking degree (gelfraction) as compared with crosslink sheets crosslinked by electron raysor crosslink sheets crosslinked by a thermolysis type chemicallycrosslinking agent. Moreover, the above-mentioned foaming sheet foamsunder normal pressure by heating. Therefore, cells in the foamed bodyget larger and have a larger wall than cells in the foamed body obtainedfrom the crosslink sheet. Consequently, the above-mentioned foamed bodysheet is superior in mechanical properties such as compressive force andbuckling resistance.

Since the foamed body sheet has a small crosslinking degree, the sheetcan be remelted by being heated. Thus, the sheet is rich in recycleability. This makes it possible to use the material of the sheet againor apply the material to some other purpose.

The method for shaping the foaming sheet is not particularly limited,and may be any one of shaping methods which are generally performed toshape plastic, such as extrusion, press forming, blow molding,calendaring forming and injection molding. Particularly preferred is anextrusion method of shaping a polyolefin resin composition extrudedfrom, for example, a screw extruder directly into a sheet-form since themethod is superior in productivity. This method makes it possible toobtain a continuous foaming sheet having a constant width.

The method of producing a foamed body sheet by the chemically foamingmethod from the foaming sheet is usually performed within thetemperature range from a temperature not less than the decompositiontemperature of the thermolysis type chemically foaming agent to atemperature less than the thermal decomposition temperature of thepolyolefin resin.

The above-mentioned foaming is preferably performed using a continuoussystem foaming machine. The method of performing the foaming using acontinuous system foaming machine is not particularly limited. Examplesthereof include a method using a pulling-in type foaming machine, whichcauses the foaming sheet to foam continuously while the foaming sheet ispulled in at the side of an outlet of a heating furnace, a belt typefoaming machine, a vertical type or horizontal type foaming furnace, ora hot-wind thermostat; and a method of causing foaming in a hot bathsuch as an oil bath, a metal bath or a salt bath.

The method of setting the average value of the aspect ratios (Dz/Dxy) ofthe thus-obtained foamed body sheet to 1.1 to 4.0 is not particularlylimited. Preferred is, for example, a method of laminating, on at leastone face of the foaming sheet which has not yet foamed, a face materialhaving such a strength that the foaming strength in the plane direction(the xy direction) of the foaming sheet, when it foams, can besuppressed.

By laminating the above-mentioned face material on at least one face ofthe foaming sheet which has not yet foamed, foaming in thetwo-dimensional direction (the xy direction) in the plane of the foamingsheet is suppressed when the sheet foams. As a result, foaming can becaused only in the thickness direction (the z direction). The cellsinside the resultant foamed body sheet become spindle-shaped cellshaving a long axis oriented in the thickness direction.

The kind of the face material is not particularly limited if it canresist temperatures not less than the foaming temperature of the foamingsheet, that is, temperatures not less than the melting point of thepolyolefin resin and temperatures not less than the decompositiontemperature of the thermolysis type chemically foaming agent. Forexample, the following is preferably used: paper, cloth, wood, iron,nonferrous metal, woven fabric or nonwoven fabric made of organic fiberor inorganic fiber, cheesecloth, glass fiber, carbon fiber, or apolyolefin resin drawn sheet, which will be described later. The foamedbody sheet may be obtained by using a sheet having releasing ability,such as a Teflon sheet, as the face material, causing the foaming sheetto foam in the thickness direction and subsequently stripping thereleasing sheet.

However, when the face material made of a material other than thepolyolefin resin is used, the use amount thereof is preferably made assmall as possible from the viewpoint of recycle ability.

Among the above-mentioned face materials, nonwoven cloth or cheeseclothis more preferably used, which is superior in anchor effect when thepolyolefin resin drawn sheet is laminated and hardly produces a badeffect on the human body or environment.

The following will describe the polyolefin resin drawn sheet (referredto as the drawn sheet hereinafter) used in the present invention.

The kind of the polyolefin resin used for the production of the drawnsheet is not particularly limited. Examples thereof includepolyethylenes such as low density polyethylene, high densitypolyethylene, and linear low density polyethylene; and polypropylenessuch as propylene homopolymer, propylene random polymer, and propyleneblock polymer. In particular, polyethylene having a high theoreticalelasticity modulus is more preferably used in light of the elasticitymodulus thereof after it is drawn. High density polyethylene having ahigh crystallinity is most preferably used. These polyolefin resins maybe used alone or in combination of two or more thereof.

The weight average molecular weight of the polyolefin resin forproducing the drawn sheet is not particularly limited, and is preferablyfrom 100000 to 500000. If the weight average molecular weight of thepolyolefin resin is less than 100000, the polyolefin resin itself getsbrittle so that the drawing ability may be damaged. Contrarily, if theweight average molecular weight of the polyolefin resin exceeds 500000,the drawing ability deteriorates so that the drawn sheet may not beeasily shaped or drawing with a high ratio may not be easily performed.

The method of measuring the weight average molecular weight is generallythe so-called gel permeation chromatography (high-temperature GPC),wherein the polyolefin resin is dissolved in a heated organic solventsuch as o-dichlorobenzene, the solution is poured into a column, andthen the elution time thereof is measured. The above-mentioned weightaverage molecular weight is also a value measured by thehigh-temperature GPC using o-dichlorobenzene as the organic solvent.

The melt flow rate (MFR) of the polyolefin resin for producing the drawnsheet is not particularly limited, and is preferably from 0.1 to 20 g/10minutes. If the MFR of the polyolefin resin is less than 0.1 g/10minutes or exceeds 20 g/10 minutes, drawing with a high ratio may becomedifficult. The MFR is measured according to JIS K-7210 Flow Test ofThermoplastic.

As the polyolefin resin for producing the drawn sheet, there isparticularly preferably used a high density polyethylene having a weightaverage molecular weight of 100000 to 500000 and an MFR of 0.1 to 20g/10 minutes.

If necessary, it is allowable to add, to the inside of the drawn sheet,a crosslinking auxiliary, a radical photopolymerization initiator, orthe like besides the polyolefin resin, which is a main component, as faras the attainment of the objects of the present invention are not bedisturbed.

Examples of the crosslinking auxiliary include polyfunctional monomerssuch as triallyl cyanurate, trimethylolpropane triacrylate anddiallylphthalate. Examples of the radical photopolymerization initiatorinclude benzophenone, thioxanthone and acetophenone. These crosslinkingauxiliaries or the radical photopolymerization initiators may be usedalone or in combination of two or more thereof.

The added amount of the crosslinking auxiliary or the radicalphotopolymerization is not particularly limited. Preferably, the addedamount of the crosslinking auxiliary or the radical photopolymerizationis from 1 to 2 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the polyolefinresin. If the added amount of the crosslinking auxiliary or the radicalphotopolymerization thereof is less than 1 part by weight per 100 partsby weight of the polyolefin resin, the crosslinking of the polyolefinresin or the radical photopolymerization may not advance promptly.Contrarily, if the added amount of the crosslinking auxiliary or theradical photopolymerization exceeds 2 parts by weight per 100 parts byweight of the polyolefin resin, drawing with a high ratio may becomedifficult.

The method of forming the drawn sheet is not particularly limited. Forexample, a non-drawn sheet (drawing original fabric) is first formed byfollowing: melting and kneading a polyolefin resin compositioncomprising the polyolefin resin as a main component, and thecrosslinking auxiliary and the radical photopolymerization, which areoptionally added, with an extruder or the like so as to be made plastic;extruding the melted product into a sheet-form through a T die; andcooling the extruded product.

The thickness of the non-drawn sheet is not particularly limited, and ispreferably from 0.5 to 10 mm. If the thickness of the non-drawn sheet isless than 0.5 mm, a drawn sheet obtained by subjecting the non-drawnsheet to drawing treatment becomes tooth in so that the strength thereofbecomes in sufficient. Thus, the handling performance thereof may bedamaged. Contrarily, if the thickness of the non-drawn sheet exceeds 10mm, drawing treatment may become difficult.

Next, the non-drawn sheet is subjected to drawing treatment to produce adrawn sheet.

It is advisable that the draw magnification when the drawing treatmentis performed is set in such a manner that the tensile elasticity of thedrawn sheet will be 5 GPa or more. The draw magnification is preferablyfrom 5 to 40 times, more preferably from 10 to 40 times, and still morepreferably from 20 to 40 times. If the drawn ratio is less than 5 times,the tensile elasticity of the drawn sheet lowers regardless of the kindof the polyolefin resin or the average linear expansion coefficientthereof, which will be described later, gets small. As a result, adesired flexural-rigidity or dimensional stability is not obtained in atarget laminated composite. Contrarily, if the drawn ratio is more than40 times, it may be difficult to control the drawing.

The width of the drawn sheet may be basically arbitrary. However, if thewidth is too small, it is necessary to arrange many sheets when a planeis formed. Thus, the process becomes complicated and productivitydeteriorates. Accordingly, the width of the drawn sheet is preferably 10mm or more, more preferably 50 mm or more, and still more preferably 100mm or more.

The drawing temperature when the drawing treatment is performed is notparticularly limited, and is preferably from 85 to 120° C. If thedrawing temperature is less than 85° C., the drawn sheet is easilywhitened and drawing with a high ratio may become difficult. Contrarily,if the drawing temperature exceeds 120° C., the non-drawn sheet iseasily cut or drawing with a high ratio may become difficult.

The drawing method is not particularly limited, and may be aconventional monoaxially drawing method. A roll drawing method isparticularly preferred.

The roll drawing method is a method of sandwiching the non-drawn sheetbetween two pairs of drawing rolls, the speed of the pairs beingdifferent, and then pulling the non-drawn sheet while being heated. Thesheet can be molecule-oriented only in a monoaxially drawing direction.In this case, the speed ratio between the two pairs becomes equal to thedrawn ratio.

In the case that the thickness of the non-drawn sheet is relativelylarge, it may be difficult that smooth drawing is performed only by theroll drawing method. In such a case, rolling treatment may be performedbefore the roll drawing.

The rolling treatment is performed by inserting, between a pair ofreduction rolls which rotate in opposite directions, the non-drawn sheethaving a thickness larger than the gap between the reduction rolls toreduce the thickness of the non-drawn sheet and extent the sheet in thelong direction. Since the non-drawn sheet subjected to the rollingtreatment is beforehand oriented in the monoaxial direction, the sheetis smoothly drawn in the monoaxial direction by roll drawing in the nextstep.

In the drawing step, in order to make the drawing temperature within apreferred range (85 to 120° C.), it is advisable to adjust appropriatelythe pre-heating temperature of the non-drawn sheet, the temperature ofthe drawing roll, the temperature of atmosphere, and the like.

In order to improve the heat resistance of the thus-obtained drawn sheetor the heat resistance or the creep resistance of a composite laminationto be finally obtained, crosslinking treatment may be performed.

The kind of the crosslinking treatment is not particularly limited. Forexample, the treatment can be performed by electron beam radiation orultraviolet ray radiation.

The quantity of the electron beam radiation in the case that thecrosslinking treatment is performed by the electron beam radiation maybe appropriately set, considering the composition or the thickness ofthe drawn sheet, or the like. The quantity is not particularly limited,and is generally from 1 to 20 Mrad, more preferably from 3 to 10 Mrad.In the case of the crosslinking treatment by electron beam radiation,the crosslinking can be smoothly preformed by adding the crosslinkingauxiliary to the inside of the drawn sheet beforehand.

The quantity of the ultraviolet ray radiation in the case that thecrosslinking treatment is performed by ultraviolet ray radiation may beappropriately set, considering the composition or the thickness of thedrawn sheet, or the like. The quantity is not particularly limited, andis generally from 50 to 800 mW/cm2, more preferably from 100 to 500mW/cm². In the case of the crosslinking treatment by ultraviolet rayradiation, the crosslinking can be smoothly preformed by adding theradical photopolymerization initiator or the crosslinking auxiliary tothe inside of the drawn sheet beforehand.

The degree of the crosslinking of the drawn sheet is not particularlylimited, and the above-mentioned gel fraction is preferably fromapproximately 50 to 90% by weight.

Since the drawn sheet is a sheet drawn 5 times or more, the degree ofthermal stretch and shrinkage to temperature change becomes small.Therefore, by laminating this drawn sheet on the foamed body sheet, thedrawn sheet suppresses thermal stretch and shrinkage of the foamed bodysheet so that dimensional stability against temperature can be kept inthe target composite lamination.

One of the numerical values for indicating the degree of the thermalstretch and shrinkage is an average linear expansion coefficient.

The drawn sheet used in the present invention is a sheet having anaverage linear expansion coefficient of 5 x 10⁻⁵/° C. or less,preferably 3×10⁻⁵/° C. or less, and still more preferably from −2×10⁻⁵to 2×10⁻⁵/° C.

The average linear expansion coefficient is an index indicating the rateof expansion of the dimension of an object on basis of temperature.There is a method in which the dimension of an object whose temperatureis rising is accurately measured in sequence by TMA (mechanicalanalysis) in order to measure the average linear expansion coefficient.However, the dimensions of the drawn sheet at 5° C. and 80° C. aremeasured and the average linear expansion coefficient can be calculatedfrom the difference therebetween.

In general, the average linear expansion coefficient of an object madeof the polyolefin resin is larger than 5×10⁻⁵/° C. However, bysubjecting the resin to drawing treatment, a drawn sheet having anaverage linear expansion coefficient of 5×10⁻⁵/° C. or less can beobtained. As the drawn ratio of this drawn sheet is made larger, theaverage linear expansion coefficient thereof is lower.

About the foamed body sheet, the average linear expansion coefficient ofthe polyolefin resin sheet, which makes by itself up to the sheet, isfrom approximately 5×10⁻⁵ to 15×10⁻⁵/° C. Thus, the foamed body sheethas a problem that a dimensional change based on thermal shrinkage islarge. However, by lamination, on at least one face thereof, theabove-mentioned drawn sheet having an average linear expansioncoefficient of 5×10⁻⁵/° C. or less, a laminated composite which has asmall average linear expansion coefficient and does not cause anydimensional change based on thermal shrinkage easily can be obtained.

Since the drawn ratio of the above-mentioned drawn sheet is made largeto set the average linear expansion coefficient thereof to 5×10⁻⁵/° C.or less, the tensile strength (tensile elasticity) in the drawingdirection also becomes large. Thus, the flexural-strength (bend elasticconstant) of the composite lamination wherein the above-mentioned drawnsheet is laminated on at least one face of the above-mentioned foamedbody sheet is drastically improved. Thus, a synergetic effect isgenerated.

In the invention of claim 1, the heating of the bonding synthetic resinor rubber may be performed before or after this is interposed betweenthe core material and the drawn sheet. For example, only the syntheticresin or the rubber is heated and melted with an extruder or the likewithout heating the core material nor the drawn sheet, and this isinterposed between the core material and the drawn sheet. Thereafter,this stack product may be pressed to adhere the layers therein to eachother. In the invention of claim 2, before heating and laminating thecore material and the drawn sheet, the sheet or the film made of thebonding synthetic resin or rubber, preferably the synthetic resin film,is interposed between the core material and the drawn sheet.

If the synthetic resin film is used, the lamination of the corematerial/the synthetic resin film/the drawn sheet can easily beobtained. The method of interposing the sheet or the film made of thesynthetic resin or the rubber between the core material and the drawnsheet is not particularly limited, and may be according to a batchsystem or a continuous system.

The inventions of claims 3 and 4, before heating and pressing the corematerial and the drawn sheet, the bonding face(s) of the core materialand/or the drawn sheet is/are beforehand coated or impregnated with thebonding synthetic resin or rubber. In the case of claim 3, the heatingof the synthetic resin or the rubber may be performed before stackingthem.

By this coating or impregnating treatment, the heating and pressing ofthe core material and the drawn sheet can be performed at a lowerpressure for a short time.

The method of coating the core material with the synthetic resin or therubber is not particularly limited, and may be a generally-used method.Examples thereof include a method of using a screw extruder or the liketo heat the synthetic resin or the rubber to a temperature not less thanthe flow starting temperature thereof so as to be melted, andsubsequently roll-coating the core material with the resultant meltedproduct or lining the core material with the resultant product by meansof a crosshead die; and a method of compression-bonding a film or asheet made of the synthetic resin or the rubber to the core materialwhile heating the film or the sheet at a temperature not less than theflow starting temperature thereof and a temperature not more than thethermal deformation temperature thereof.

The thermal deformation temperature referred to herein means atemperature measured by the method described in ASTM D648 (method ofapplying a given load to a sample, and obtaining a temperature showing agiven change when temperature is raised at a constant rate). The flowstarting temperature means, in the case of crystalline resin, themelting point thereof, and means, in the case of non-crystalline resin,the glass transition temperature thereof.

The method of impregnating the core material with the synthetic resin orthe rubber is not particularly limited. As described above, when thecore material is formed, a face material such as nonwoven fabric orcheesecloth is used in many cases. A film or a sheet made of thesynthetic fiber or the rubber is beforehand compression-bonded to thisplate-material while the film or the sheet is heated at a temperaturenot less than the flow starting temperature thereof. This face materialis then compression-bonded to the core material while this face materialis heated at a temperature not less than the flow starting temperatureof the synthetic resin or the rubber and not more than the thermaldeformation temperature of the core material. In this way, the corematerial with the face material impregnated homogeneously with thesynthetic resin or the rubber can be obtained. As described above, afilm or a sheet made of the synthetic resin or the rubber may bethermocompression-bonded to the face material of the core material withthe face material.

The method of impregnating the drawn sheet with the synthetic resin orthe rubber is not particularly limited. For example, by laminating aface material, such as nonwoven fabric or cheesecloth, having a largeanchor effect, and then compression-bonding a film or sheet made of thesynthetic resin or the rubber to the drawn sheet while heating the filmor the sheet at a temperature not less than the flow startingtemperature thereof, the drawn sheet with the face material impregnatedhomogenously with the synthetic resin or the rubber can be obtained. Itis also allowable to thermocompression-bond a film or a sheet made ofthe synthetic resin or the rubber to the face material beforehand, asdescribed above, and thermocompression-bond this face material to thedrawn sheet.

By using the face material having a large anchor effect in this way, itis easy to be impregnated with the synthetic resin or the rubber. As aresult, the bonding strength with the polyolefin resin drawn sheet canbe made high.

In the invention of claim 8, as the polyolefin resin drawn sheet, thereis used a drawn sheet whose face to be bonded is at least locally heatedand melted at a temperature higher than the melting point of the resinby 10° C. or more or is roughened.

Since the polyolefin resin drawn sheet has a highly-oriented fibrousstructure, its surface layer is subjected to melting treatment in such amanner that the fibrous structure is cancelled in the surface layerwithout damaging the strength of the drawn sheet, in order to improvethe bonding property of the synthetic resin or the rubber, which will bedescribed later.

In order to melt the surface layer of at least one face of thepolyolefin resin drawn sheet, for example, the drawn sheet is passedbetween a first roll having a surface temperature being kept at atemperature higher than the melting point of the polyolefin resin of thedrawn sheet by +10° C. or higher and a second roll whose surfacetemperature is kept at a temperature lower than the melting point of thepolyolefin resin while the drawn sheet is brought into contact with therolls. The melting of the surface layer means melting of only thesurface layer of the drawn sheet. Considering the maintenance ofmechanical strength, the surface layer portion is preferably a portionof 1 to 10% of the total thickness. By the melting of the surface layer,the fibrous structure in the surface layer is cancelled.

The melting treatment is subjected to at least one face of the drawnsheet. In the drawn sheet wherein only one face thereof is melted, themelted face exhibits a good bonding property to the synthetic resin orthe rubber. In the drawn sheet wherein two faces thereof are melted,both the faces exhibit a heightened bonding property or melting/bondingproperty to the synthetic resin or the rubber.

The surface temperature of the first roll is set to a temperature higherthan the melting point of the polyolefin resin of the drawn sheet by 10°C. or more. This temperature is preferably is selected from the range of10° C. higher than the melting point to 100° C. higher than the meltingpoint, more preferably the range of 30° C. higher than the melting pointto 60° C. higher than the melting point. In the case of temperaturesless than a temperature 10° C. higher than the melting point, thefibrous structure in the surface layer is not sufficiently cancelled bythe melting treatment. Thus, effects of improving the bonding propertyand melting property cannot be sufficiently obtained. In the case oftemperature of 100° C. or more higher than the melting point, it isfeared that the polyolefin resin drawn sheet is melted and bonded to thefirst roll.

As described above, the surface temperature of the second roll is set toa temperature not more than the melting point of the polyolefin resin,and is preferably controlled in the range of 0° C. to the melting pointof the polyolefin resin, more preferably in the range of 50° C. to 100°C. If the surface temperature of the second roll is more than themelting point of the polyolefin resin, the cooling effect based on thesecond roll is insufficient. Thus, it is feared that physical propertiesof the polyolefin resin drawn sheet drop. If the surface temperature ofthe second roll is lower than 0° C., water content condensates andadheres onto the roll so that proper roll processing may becomedifficult.

The melting point of the polyolefin resin is measured by thermalanalysis such as differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), and means themaximum value of endothermic peaks which follow crystal melting.

The polyolefin resin drawn sheet may be a sheet whose face to be bondedis roughened. By the roughening, the bonding property to the syntheticresin or the rubber is improved and the above-mentioned coating orimpregnation is easily attained. The method of the roughening is notparticularly limited, and examples thereof include embossing means suchas sandblasting.

The degree of fine irregularities formed by roughening the surface ofthe drawn sheet, which is represented as central line average roughness(Ra) according to JIS B 0601, is preferably 0.5 μm or more. If the Ra isless than 0.5 μm, the roughening effect may not be sufficientlyobtained.

Another method of reforming the surface is a method of performing coronatreatment to cause the surface to have polarity and bonding property.

By melting or roughening the polyolefin resin drawn sheet as describedabove, a large number of the drawn sheets can be laminated through thesynthetic resin or the rubber.

Examples of the bonding synthetic resin or rubber used in the presentinvention include thermoplastic resins, thermoplastic elastomers andrubbery polymers having a flow starting temperature lower than thethermal deformation temperature of the core material and the meltingpoint of the polyolefin resin constituting the drawn sheet. By using thesynthetic resin or the rubber having such a characteristic, only thesynthetic resin or the rubber can be caused to start flowing at atemperature at which the bore material does not deform thermally and thedrawn sheet does not melt. Without damaging performances such asflexural-rigidity and dimensional stability, a good bonding strength canbe obtained. When a lower value between the thermal deformationtemperature of the core material and the melting point of the polyolefinresin constituting the drawn sheet is represented by Tm_(lower)° C., theflow starting temperature of the synthetic resin or the rubber ispreferably (Tm_(lower)−5)° C. or less, more preferably (Tm_(lower)−10)°C. or less.

The kind of the synthetic resin or the rubber used in the presentinvention is not particularly limited if it satisfies theabove-mentioned requirements. Examples thereof include compoundsdescribed below.

Polyolefin Resins

-   -   Polyethylene (PE): very low density polyethylene (VLDP), low        density polyethylene (LDPE), linear low density polyethylene        (LLDPE), middle density polyethylene (MDPE), and high density        polyethylene (HDPE),    -   Polypropylene (PP): homo type polypropylene, random type        polypropylene, and block type polypropylene,    -   Polybutene,    -   Ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA),    -   Ionomer: metal salts of ethylene-(meth)acrylic acid copolymer    -   Ethylene-(meth)acrylic copolymer: ethylene-acrylic acid    -   copolymer (EAA), ethylene-ethyl acrylate copolymer (EEA),        ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymer (EMAA), and ethylene-methyl        methacrylate copolymer (EMMA),    -   Modified polyolefin: maleic acid modified polyethylene, maleic        acid modified polypropylene, silane modified polyethylene and        silane modified polypropylene, and    -   Chlorinated polyethylene.

Other Resins

-   -   Bonding polyester resins, and    -   Polystyrene.

Thermosplastic Elastomers

-   -   Styrene-based elastomer: polystyrene-polybutadiene-polystyrene        (SBS), polystyrene-polyisoprene-polystyrene (SIS),        polystyrene-poly(ethylene-butylene)-polystyrene (SEBS), and        polystyrene-poly(ethylene-propylene)-polystyrene,    -   Vinyl chloride based elastomer,    -   Polyolefin based elastomer: ethylene-propylene rubber (EPR), and        ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer (EPDM), and    -   Thermoplastic polyurethane.

Rubbery Polymers

-   -   Natural rubber (NR), isoprene rubber (IR), styrene rubber (SBR),        nitrile rubber (NBR), chloroprene rubber (CR), butadiene rubber        (BR), butyl rubber (IIR), chlorosulfonated polyethylene, and        polyisobutylene (PIB).

Among these examples, polyolefin based resin, polyolefin based elastomeror styrene based elastomer is preferably used as a compound having agood bonding property to the core material and the drawn sheet made ofthe polyolefin resin. In particular, polyolefin base resin is morepreferably used.

Polyolefin based elastomer or styrene based elastomer is preferably usedas a compound having a good bonding property to the core material andthe drawn sheet made of a resin other than the polyolefin resin. Inparticular, polyolefin based elastomer is more preferably used.

The thickness of the sheet or the film made of the synthetic resin orthe rubber used in the invention of claim 2 and the thickness of thecoating layer of the synthetic resin or the rubber used in theinventions of claims 3 and 4 are appropriately decided, consideringbonding property thereof. Usually, the thickness is from approximately 5μm to 2 mm. If the thickness is less than 5 μm, the bonding propertydeteriorates. If the thickness exceeds 2 mm, the bending and shearstrength drop.

In the invention of claim 1, the synthetic resin or the rubber isheated, or the lamination of the core material/the synthetic resin orthe rubber/the drawn sheet is heated. In the invention of claim 2, thelamination of the core material/the sheet or the film made of thesynthetic resin or the rubber/the drawn sheet is heated. In theinvention of claim 3, the core material and/or the drawn sheet coated orimpregnated with the synthetic resin or the rubber is/are heated, or thelamination thereof is heated. In the invention of claim 4, thelamination of the core material coated or impregnated with the syntheticresin or the rubber and/or the drawn sheet is heated.

In all of the inventions, the heating temperature is not less than theflow starting temperature of the synthetic resin or the rubber and notmore than the thermal deformation temperature of the core material andthe melting point of the drawn sheet. If the heating temperature is lessthan the flow starting temperature of the synthetic resin or the rubber,the melting of the synthetic resin or the rubber does not advance sothat sufficient bonding force cannot be obtained. If the heatingtemperature is more the thermal deformation temperature of the corematerial or the melting point of the drawn sheet, the resin constitutingthe core material or the drawn sheet melts so that desired mechanicalproperties cannot be kept.

The kind of heating means is not particularly limited, and examplesthereof include hot-window heating, infrared ray heating, electron beamheating, and contact heating using a heater.

At the same time of or after the heating, in the invention of claim 1the stack product of the core material/the synthetic resin or therubber/the drawn sheet is pressed. In the invention of claim 2, thestack product of the core material/the sheet or the film made of thesynthetic resin or the rubber/the drawn sheet is pressed. In theinventions of claims 3 and 4, the stack product of the core materialcoated or impregnated with the synthetic resin or the rubber and/or thedrawn sheet is pressed.

In all of the inventions, loaded pressure is a value such that acompressive strain of 0.01 to 10% is applied to the core material.

As an example, FIG. 2 shows a stress-strain (S-S) curve from acompression test of a foamed body sheet made of the polyolefin resinused in the present invention. When the temperature changes, thecompressive yield changes. Therefore, it is necessary to change appliedpressure dependently on heating situation. However, the presentinventors have found out that even when the temperature changes, thecompressive elasticity area of the foamed body sheet hardly changes.Thus, in the present invention, the pressure is not controlled butdisplacement in the range of the compressive elasticity area is changed,thereby performing the above-mentioned compression. According to thismethod, even if the heating temperature or the thickness of the foamedbody sheet changes, a laminated composite having a good thicknessprecision can be obtained.

If the compressive strain is less than 0.01%, sufficient bonding forcecannot be obtained. If it exceeds 10%, it exceeds the yield point of thefoamed body sheet so that the compressive strength of the foamed bodysheet drops or the thickness thereof does not recover.

A more specific range of the compressive strain is from 0.01 to 10%about the foamed body sheet of thermoplastic resin and thermosettingresin, and is from 0.01 to 5% about a hollow body or a honeycombstructure of thermoplastic resin and thermosetting resin. Since thehollow body or the honeycomb structure has a lower yield point than thefoamed body sheet, it is preferred to make the upper limit relativelysmall.

The method of controlling the displacement (thickness) is notparticularly limited. Examples of the method as a batch system include apressing manner in which stroke is controlled. Examples thereof as acontinuous system include a method of passing the stack product throughrolls whose gas is regulated.

By performing the pressing at the same time of or after the heating inthis way, the bonding synthetic resin or rubber causes the foamed bodysheet and the drawn sheet to bond to each other. The pressing time isnot particularly limited, and preferably from 0.01 second to 10 minutes.If the pressing time is less than 0.01 second, sufficient bonding forcecannot be obtained. If it exceeds 10 minutes, productivity deterioratesunfavorably.

The heating operation and the pressing operation may be separatelyperformed, or simultaneously performed. For example, in the pressingmanner using a contact heater according to a batch system, or the like,the stack production can be pressed while it is heated from both facesthereof.

The lamination heated and pressed as described above is cooled so thatthe synthesis resin or the rubber is solidified to produce a compositelamination. The cooling method is not particularly limited. In thecooling step, it is preferred to press the lamination within the rangeof a compressive strain of 0.01 to 10%.

In the case that the shrinkage starting temperature of the drawn sheetwhen it is heated is lower than the heating temperature when it islaminated, shrinkage is caused so that the form of the sheet deforms.Therefore, beautiful arrangement is difficult. For this reason, it ispreferred to perform the lamination while a tension of 0.1 to 3 kgf/1cm-width in the direction along which the sheet is oriented is appliedto the sheet. This tension varies dependently on the material thereof orthe drawn ratio, and application of a tension of 0.1 to 3 kgf l cm-widthmakes the laminating possible. If the tension is less than 0.1 kgf/1cm-width, the tension is weak so that the shrinkage cannot besuppressed. On the other hand, if the tension exceeds 3 kgf/1 cm-width,the tension is too strong so that the holding force of the heated drawnsheet is not kept. Thus, the sheet is unfavorably cut.

The shrinkage starting temperature of the sheet, which is describedabove, was measured by a method described below.

First, the drawn sheet was cut into squares with sides 100 mm long, andthe longitudinal and lateral sizes thereof were measured. Next, thesheets were set in ovens whose temperatures were set to varioustemperatures for 40 seconds. The sheets were taken out and then thesizes of the sheets were measured. The values of (the size after theheating/the initial size)×100 (%) were calculated. A temperature atwhich this became smaller than 99% was set as the shrinkage startingtemperature.

The shrinkage starting temperature varies dependently on difference inmaterial, or the drawn ratio thereof. However, in the case of polyolefintype materials, the shrinkage starting temperature becomes higher as thedrawn ratio is made higher and the shrinkage starting temperaturebecomes lower as the drawn ratio is made lower.

Relationship between the shrinkage starting temperature and the heatingtemperature at the time of the laminating is as follows:

-   -   (the flow starting temperature of the synthetic resin or the        rubber for bonding the core material and the drawn sheet to each        other)    -   <(the heating temperature at the time of the laminating)    -   <(the shrinkage starting temperature of the drawn sheet)    -   <(the thermal deformation temperature of the core material or        the melting temperature of the drawn sheet)

However, dependently on the kind of the sheet, the following case may becaused:

-   -   (the flow starting temperature of the synthetic resin or the        rubber for bonding the core material and the drawn sheet to each        other)    -   <(the shrinkage starting temperature of the drawn sheet)    -   <(the heating temperature at the time of the laminating)    -   <(the thermal deformation temperature of the core material or        the melting temperature of the drawn sheet)

In this case, in order to control the shrinking sheet, it is necessaryto apply the above-mentioned tension. When the tension is weak, thesheet looses up by shrinkage so that the laminating thereof is noteasily performed. When the tension is too strong, the sheet is cut. Thetension applied to the sheet is preferably from 0.1 to 3 kgf/1 cm-width.

In the invention of claim 1, the following steps are performed: thesteps of interposing, between the core material and the drawn sheet, abonding synthetic resin or rubber having a flow starting temperaturelower than the thermal deformation temperature of the core material andthe melting point of the drawn sheet, heating the synthetic resin or therubber to not less than the flow starting temperature and not more thanthe thermal deformation temperature of the core material and the meltingpoint of the drawn sheet before or after the three materials are stackedinto a stack product, and pressing the stack product to apply acompression strain of 0.01 to 10% to the core material at the same timeof or after the heating. In the invention of claim 2, the followingsteps are performed: the steps of interposing, between the core materialand the drawn sheet, a sheet or a film made of a bonding synthetic resinor rubber having a flow starting temperature lower than the thermaldeformation temperature of the core material and the melting point ofthe drawn sheet, heating the resultant stack product to not less thanthe flow starting temperature of the synthetic resin or the rubber andnot more than the thermal deformation temperature of the core materialand the melting point of the drawn sheet, and pressing the stack productto apply a compression strain of 0.01 to 10% to the core material at thesame time of or after the heating. Therefore, without deforming ormelting the resin constituting the core material and the drawn sheet,only the bonding synthetic resin or rubber can be melted and the corematerial and the drawn sheet can be laminated on each other withoutdamaging their physical properties.

In the inventions of claims 3 and 4, a face to be bonded of the corematerial and/or the drawn sheet is coated or impregnated with a bondingsynthetic resin or rubber before heating and pressing the core materialand the drawn sheet. Therefore, the synthetic resin or the rubber can behomogeneously caused to penetrate into the body to be bonded (the corematerial and/or the drawn sheet). Thus, even if the pressing isperformed for a short time, a sufficient bonding force can be obtained.

In the invention of claim 5, the laminating is performed while a tensionof 0.1 to 3 kgf/1 cm-width is applied to the sheet in the orientationdirection of the sheet, whereby the laminating can easily be performedeven under conditions that the drawn sheet shrinks easily.

In the invention of claim 6, the draw magnification of the sheet is from5 to 40 times, whereby a laminated composite having a necessary rigiditycan be realized.

In the invention of claim 7, the core material is a resin foamed body inwhich the average of aspect ratios (Dz/Dxy) of cells is from 1.1 to 4.0,whereby a light and highly-rigid laminated composite can be obtained.

In the invention of claim 8, as the drawn sheet, there is used a drawnsheet whose face to be bonded is at least locally heated and melted at atemperature higher than the melting point of the resin by 10° C. or moreor is roughened. Therefore, the bonding synthetic resin or rubber isliable to be compatible with the drawn sheet and they are easily bondedto each other by anchor effect.

According to the inventions of claims 1 and 2, without deforming ormelting the polyolefin resin constituting the core material and thedrawn sheet, only the bonding synthetic resin or rubber can be meltedand the core material and the drawn sheet can be laminated on each otherwithout damaging their physical properties.

According to the inventions of claims 3 and 4, the synthetic resin orthe rubber can be homogeneously caused to penetrate into the body to bebonded. Thus, even if the pressing is performed for a short time, asufficient bonding force can be obtained.

According to the invention of claim 5, the laminating can easily beperformed.

According to the invention of claim 6, a stable laminated composite canbe obtained.

According to the invention of claim 7, a light and highly-rigidlaminated composite can be obtained.

According to the invention of claim 8, the bonding synthetic resin orrubber is liable to be compatible with the drawn sheet and they areeasily bonded to each other by anchor effect.

The inventions of claims 9 to 20 are carried out as embodimentsdescribed below.

It is sufficient that the core material has rigidity, and it is ingeneral preferred that the core material is a board having a certainmeasure of thickness, for example, a thickness of 1 mm or more.

Examples of the core material board include the following:

Boards made of a thermoplastic resin such as polyethylene resin,polyethylene copolymer resin, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer resin,polypropylene resin, ABS resin, vinyl chloride resin, vinyl chloridecopolymer, vinylidene chloride resin, polyamide resin, polycarbonateresin, polyethylene terephthalate resin, polyimide resin, orpolyurethane resin. These thermoplastic resins may be used alone or in ablend form. Of course, the board may be made light by foaming treatmentor the like.

The core material board may be a board made of both plastic corrugatedcardboard or plastic honeycomb and a face material.

Boards made of a thermosetting resin such as urethane resin, unsaturatedpolyester resin, epoxy resin, phenol resin, melamine resin, urea resin,diallylphthalate resin, or xylene resin.

Woody fiber boards, wherein woody fibers are hardened with an adhesiveagent or the like, such as insulation boards (A-class insulations,tatami-boards, and seizing boards), MDF (middle fiber plates), and HDF(hard fiber boards); woody chip boards, wherein woody chips are hardenedwith an adhesive agent, such as particle boards; plywood (that is,material obtained by laminating plural veneer sheets on each otherperpendicularly), and veneer sheet laminated material (that is, materialobtained by plural veneer sheets in parallel); longitudinally splicedmaterial (that is, material wherein sweeping boards are longitudinallyspliced with finger joints; assembly material (that is, material whereinsweeping boards are laminated on each other); and woody board products.

It is allowable to use boards wherein the above-mentioned plate materialas a face material is sandwiched between paper honeycombs or metalhoneycombs.

Iron sheets such as melted zinc steel sheets, zinc aluminum alloy steelsheets, and stainless steel sheets. Nonferrous metal sheets made ofaluminum, titanium, copper or the like.

In order to improve the bonding property of the core material to a sheetfor face material, which is laminated on this core material, it isnaturally allowable to deposit an adhesive layer on the core material orthe face material sheet beforehand, or apply an adhesive agent thereto.

A two-layer type, wherein the core material and the face material aremelted and bonded by heating, is basically used. Dependently on use,however, an adhesive layer may be interposed between the core materialand the face material.

Examples of the method for depositing the adhesive layer include amethod of inserting a film, which will be the adhesive layer, betweenthe core material and the face material sheet, supplying them betweenrolls at the same time, and heating and pressing them; a method ofcoating, at the time of supplying the core material and the facematerial sheet between rolls, at least one thereof with an adhesiveagent by means of a roll coater, a gun or the like, thereby forming theadhesive layer; and a method of forming the adhesive layer on at leastone of the core material and the face material sheet beforehand, andheating and pressing them at the time of being passed between rolls,thereby laminating them.

Examples of the film which makes up to the adhesive layer include filmsmade of linear low density polyethylene resin, middle densitypolyethylene resin, very low density polyethylene resin, ethylene-vinylacetate copolymer resin, high density polyethylene resin, polypropyleneresin, ionomer resin, EMAA resin, or polyacrylonitrile resin.

Examples of the adhesive agent include vinyl acetate resin emulsionadhesive agents, acrylic emulsion adhesive agents, vinyl acetatecopolymer emulsion adhesive agents, polyvinyl alcohol adhesive agents,vinyl acetate resin mastic adhesive agents, dope cements, monomercements, vinyl chloride resin adhesive agents, ethylene-vinyl acetatecopolymer hot melt adhesive agents, polyamide type hot melt adhesiveagents, polyester type hot melt adhesive agents, thermoplastic rubbertype adhesive agents, urethane hot melt adhesive agents, chloroprenerubber type adhesive agents, synthetic rubber type adhesive agents,natural rubber type adhesive agents, urea resin adhesive agents,melamine resin adhesive agents, phenol resin adhesive agents, epoxyresin adhesive agents, and polyurethane type adhesive agents.

It is sufficient that the face material sheet is a material flexiblealong the curvature of rolls in order to embrace the rolls. A sheethaving a small thickness, for example, a sheet having a thickness of 1mm or less is preferred. Examples of such a sheet include sheetsdescribed below.

Sheets which are caused to have anisotropy in mechanical properties(such as tensile strength and linear expansion coefficient) by drawing,orientation or the like and made of a thermoplastic resin such aspolyethylene resin, polypropylene resin, polyester resin, ABS resin,polycarbonate resin, vinyl chloride resin, acryl-modified vinyl chlorideresin, modified polyproplyeneoxide resin, polycarbonate/ABS resin,modified polyphenylene ether resin, acrylic resin, or acryl-styrolresin; glass cloth such as a surface mat obtained by making glass fiberinto a paper form, material obtained by weaving glass robbing (a binderfor bonding glass short fibers to each other may be contained in thesurface mat. Examples of the binder include thermoplastic resin, such aspolyvinyl alcohol resin, saturated polyester resin, and acrylic resins,and thermosetting resins such as epoxy resin and unsaturated polyesterresin): prepreg sheets, wherein long fibrous materials are hardened witha resin binder (examples of the long fiber include glass fiber, carbonfiber, polyester resin, acrylic fiber, nylon fiber, carbon fiber andaramide fiber); stampable sheets, which are composite materials whereinthermosetting resin and a glass long fiber mat are combined with eachother (polypropylene is frequently used as the thermoplastic resin);cheesecloth, woven fabric or nonwoven fabric, and needle punch(cheesecloth, woven fabric or nonwoven fabric, and needle punch are mademainly of synthetic resin fiber of polyester, nylon or the like. Wovenfabric may be ordinary cloth made of natural fiber or synthetic fiber.Examples of organic fiber constituting woven fabric or nonwoven fabricinclude polyester fiber, cotton, acrylic fiber, nylon fiber, carbonfiber and aramide fiber); paper or metal sheets (an iron sheet ornonferrous metal sheets made of aluminum, titanium, copper or the like.Examples of the iron sheet include a melt zinc steel sheet, a melt zincaluminum alloy steel sheet, and a stainless steel sheet. As such a metalsheet, a rolled thin sheet having a thickness of 0.01 to 2 mm isparticularly preferably used. These metals may be arbitrarily plated, orcoated with organic paint, in organic paint or the like, or coated withan adhesive agent; and liquid crystal polymers (macromoleculesexhibiting a liquid crystal structure, and examples thereof includeliotropic liquid crystal polymers of entirely-aromatic polyamides, atypical example of which is Kevlar, thermotropic liquid crystals ofentirely aromatic polyesters, typical examples of which are Zaider andVectra).

Among the above-mentioned face materials, particularly desired arematerials having anisotropy in mechanical properties along the MDdirection and the TD direction. Specific examples thereof includeprepreg sheets wherein a drawn or oriented sheet of a thermoplasticresin or a long fibrous material thereof is hardened into a sheet-formwith a resin binder.

The inventions of claims 17 to 20 are carried out, in particular, asembodiments described below.

About the supplied longitudinal sheets or lateral sheets, they may beused alone or a plurality of them may be arranged in parallel. Anadhesive layer may be supplied together with the longitudinal sheet.

The temperature of the longitudinal sheet supplied to the core materialsurface is raised by heating and pressing, so that the sheet is meltedand bonded/laminated on the core material. Examples of the heating andpressing means include a heating roll, a heating roll with a belt, and ahot-press. In the case that a heating roll and a heating roll with abelt are used, the core material and the longitudinal sheet arecontinuously carried. In the case that a hot-press is used, the corematerial and the longitudinal sheet are intermittently carried. Beforethe heating and pressing means (step), an auxiliary heating means (step)based on radiant heating, hot-window heating, a plane-heater or the likeis set.

The intermediate lamination made of the longitudinal sheet and the corematerial is cut into a constant-size with a cutting means. Examples ofthe cutting means include a circular saw, a chip saw, a metal saw, apushing-down type cutter, and a hot wire.

The intermediate lamination is pushed out with the core materialsupplying means, so as to be carried. At this time, the carriage may besupported with a driving roll, or assisted with a driving belt. Ineither case, the carriage up to the end of the cutting of theintermediate lamination is performed in the longitudinal direction.

After the compression-bonding by heating and pressing, the intermediatelamination is preferably cooled to not more than the melting point ofthe longitudinal sheet by a cooling means (step). Examples of thecooling means include a cooling roll, natural cooling, and air-cooling.

In the inventions of claims 17 and 18, the constant-size cut pieces ofthe intermediate lamination made of the longitudinal sheet and the corematerial is carried in a direction having a given angle to the advancingdirection (longitudinal direction), and the lateral sheet is suppliedand thermocompression-bonded in the same manner as the longitudinalsheet while the cut pieces of the intermediate lamination move in thecarriage direction. The given angle is, for example, 90°, but may be anyangle other than 90°. Examples of the means for carrying the cut piecesof the intermediate lamination include a member of pushing out thepieces with a cylinder or the like, and a member of holding up the cutpieces with an attracting pad or supporting the cut pieces on aturntable to deliver the pieces to the next carrying line, and carryingthe pieces with a roll, a belt or the like.

In the inventions of claims 19 and 20, the constant-size cut pieces ofthe intermediate lamination made of the longitudinal sheet and the corematerial are rotated by 90° and further carried in the advancingdirection (longitudinal direction), and the lateral sheet is suppliedand thermocompression-bonded in the same manner as the longitudinalsheet while the cut pieces move in the longitudinal direction. Examplesof the means for rotating the cut pieces of the intermediate laminationby 90° to the carriage direction while the carriage direction of the cutpieces is kept as it is include a member of using a turntable or amember of holding up the cut pieces with an attracting pad and rotatingthe pieces.

The device for producing a laminated composite of claim 9 includes acore supplying means for supplying the core material in the longitudinaldirection, a longitudinal sheet supplying means for supplying alongitudinal sheet for a face material in the longitudinal directiononto at least one face of the core material, a lateral sheet supplyingmeans for supplying the lateral sheet for the face material in thelateral direction onto the upper or lower face of the longitudinalsheet, and a sheet thermocompression-bonding means for pressing thelongitudinal sheet and the lateral sheet stacked in an orthogonal formagainst the core material under heating. Therefore, the longitudinalsheet and the lateral sheet can be continuously laminated, into anorthogonal form, on the core material.

The method for producing a laminated composite of claim 10 includes acore supplying step of supplying the core material in the longitudinaldirection, a longitudinal sheet supplying step of supplying thelongitudinal sheet for a face material in the longitudinal directiononto at least one face of the core material, a lateral sheet supplyingstep of supplying the lateral sheet for the face material in the lateraldirection onto the upper or lower face of the longitudinal sheet, and asheet thermocompression-bonding step of pressing the longitudinal sheetand the lateral sheet stacked in an orthogonal form against the corematerial under heating. Therefore, the longitudinal sheet and thelateral sheet can be continuously laminated, into an orthogonal form, onthe core material.

In the device for producing a laminated composite of claim 11, at aposition where the longitudinal sheet starts to contact a heating rollof the sheet thermocompression-bonding, the lateral sheet is suppliedbetween the heating roll and the longitudinal sheet by the lateral sheetsupplying means. Therefore, the operation of laminating the sheets forthe face material in a longitudinal and laterally orthogonal form on thecore can be performed with a high efficiency.

The method for producing a laminated composite of claim 12 furtherincludes a lateral sheet supplying step of supplying a cut piece of thelateral sheet between a heating roll and the longitudinal sheet at aposition where the longitudinal sheet starts to contact the heating rollduring the sheet thermocompression-bonding step. Therefore, theoperation of laminating the sheets for the face material in alongitudinally and laterally orthogonal form on the core can beperformed with a high efficiency.

In the device for producing a laminated composite of claim 13, thelongitudinal sheet supplying means is a means for supplying upper sidelongitudinal sheets and lower side longitudinal sheets to be arrangedalternatively in the lateral direction, and the lateral sheet supplyingmeans is a means for supplying plural lateral sheets successivelybetween the upper side longitudinal sheets and the lower sidelongitudinal sheets so as to be arranged in parallel. Therefore, thelongitudinal sheet and the lateral sheet can be alternately woven. As aresult, a laminated composite having such physical properties thatreinforcing strengths in the longitudinal direction and the lateraldirection are uniform can be obtained.

In the method for producing a laminated composite of claim 14, thelongitudinal sheet supplying step is a step of supplying upper sidelongitudinal sheets and lower side longitudinal sheets to be arrangedalternatively in the lateral direction, and the lateral sheet supplyingstep is a step of supplying plural lateral sheets successively betweenthe upper side longitudinal sheets and the lower side longitudinalsheets so as to be arranged in parallel. Therefore, the longitudinalsheet and the lateral sheet can be alternately woven. As a result, alaminated composite having such physical properties that reinforcingstrengths in the longitudinal direction and the lateral direction areuniform can be obtained.

In the device for producing a laminated composite of claim 15, thelateral sheet supplying means includes an attracting roll set at aposition where the longitudinal sheet starts to contact the heating rollof the sheet thermocompression-bonding means, and a single sheetsupplying means for supplying cut pieces of the lateral sheet one by oneto the attracting roll. Therefore, the longitudinal sheet and thelateral sheet can be continuously adhered, in an orthogonal form, on thesurface of the core material.

In the method for producing a laminated composite of claim 16, thelateral sheet supplying step includes a single sheet supplying step ofsupplying cut pieces of the lateral sheet one by one to an attractingroll set at a position where the longitudinal sheet starts to contactthe heating roll during the sheet thermocompression-bonding step.Therefore, the longitudinal sheet and the lateral sheet can becontinuously adhered, in an orthogonal form, on the surface of the corematerial.

The device for producing a laminated composite of claim 17 includes acore material supplying means for supplying the core material in thelongitudinal direction, a longitudinal sheet supplying means forsupplying the longitudinal sheet for a face material, in thelongitudinal direction, onto at least one face of the core material, afirst thermocompression-bonding means for pressing the longitudinalsheet and the core material under heating to form an intermediatelamination, a first cutting means for cutting the intermediatelamination, a carrying means for carrying cut pieces of the intermediatelamination in a direction having a given angle to the longitudinaldirection, a lateral sheet supplying means for supplying the lateralsheet for the face material, in the carriage direction, onto the upperface or the lower face of the cut pieces, a secondthermocompression-bonding means for pressing the cut pieces of theintermediate lamination and the lateral sheet, which are stacked, underheating to form a final lamination, and a second cutting means forcutting the final lamination. Therefore, the longitudinal sheet and thelateral sheet can be continuously laminated, in an orthogonal form, onthe core material. Moreover, the lateral sheet can be supplied in alongitudinal state in the same manner as the longitudinal sheet.

The method for producing a laminated composite of claim 18 includes acore material supplying step of supplying the core material in alongitudinal direction, a longitudinal sheet supplying step of supplyingthe longitudinal sheet for a face material, in the longitudinaldirection, onto at least one face of the core material, a firstthermocompression-bonding step of pressing the longitudinal sheet andthe core material under heating to form an intermediate lamination, afirst cutting step of cutting the intermediate lamination, a carryingstep of carrying cut pieces of the intermediate lamination in adirection having a given angle to the longitudinal direction, a lateralsheet supplying step of supplying the lateral sheet for the facematerial, in the carriage direction, onto the upper face or the lowerface of the cut pieces, a second thermocompression-bonding step ofstacking and pressing the cut pieces of the intermediate lamination andthe lateral sheet under heating to form a final lamination, and a secondcutting step of cutting the final lamination. Therefore, thelongitudinal sheet and the lateral sheet can be continuously laminated,in an orthogonal form, on the core material. Moreover, the lateral sheetcan be supplied in a longitudinal state in the same manner as thelongitudinal sheet.

The device for producing a laminated composite of claim 19 includes acore material supplying means for supplying the core material in thelongitudinal direction, a longitudinal sheet supplying means forsupplying the longitudinal sheet for a face material, in thelongitudinal direction, onto at least one face of the core material, afirst thermocompression-bonding means for pressing the longitudinalsheet and the core material under heating to form an intermediatelamination, a first cutting means for cutting the intermediatelamination, a carrying means for rotating cut pieces of the intermediatelamination at an angle of 90° to carry the cut pieces in thelongitudinal direction, a lateral sheet supplying means for supplyingthe lateral sheet for the face material, in the longitudinal direction,onto the upper face or the lower face of the cut pieces, a secondthermocompression-bonding means for pressing the cut pieces of theintermediate lamination and the lateral sheet, which are stacked, underheating to form a final lamination, and a second cutting means forcutting the final lamination. Therefore, the longitudinal sheet and thelateral sheet can be continuously laminated, in an orthogonal form, onthe core material. Moreover, the lateral sheet can be supplied in alongitudinal state in the same manner as the longitudinal sheet.

The method for producing a laminated composite of claim 20 includes acore material supplying step of supplying the core material in thelongitudinal direction, a longitudinal sheet supplying step of supplyingthe longitudinal sheet for a face material, in the longitudinaldirection, onto at least one face of the core material, a firstthermocompression-bonding step of pressing the longitudinal sheet andthe core material under heating to form an intermediate lamination, afirst cutting step of cutting the intermediate lamination, a carryingstep of rotating cut pieces of the intermediate lamination at an angleof 90° to carry the cut pieces in the longitudinal direction, a lateralsheet supplying step of supplying the lateral sheet for the facematerial, in the longitudinal direction, onto the upper face or thelower face of the cut pieces, a second thermocompression-bonding step ofstacking and pressing the cut pieces of the intermediate lamination andthe lateral sheet under heating to form a final lamination, and a secondcutting step of cutting the final lamination. Therefore, thelongitudinal sheet and the lateral sheet can be continuously laminated,in an orthogonal form, on the core material. Moreover, the lateral sheetcan be supplied in a longitudinal state in the same manner as thelongitudinal sheet.

According to the laminated composite and the production device of claims9 to 20, the operation of laminating the sheet for the face material inthe longitudinally and laterally orthogonal form on the core materialcan be continuously performed and the laminated composite can beproduced with a high productive efficiency. Accordingly, the laminatedcomposite which has a high flexural-elasticity if the thickness is smalland which has a small linear expansion coefficient and no anisotropy canbe obtained.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1(a) is a schematic perspective view of spindle-shaped cells, andFIG. 1(b) is an enlarged schematic view of a part of a section inparallel to the z direction in FIG. 1(a);

FIG. 2 is a graph showing a stress-strain (S-S) curve from a compressivetest for a foamed body sheet made of a polyolefin resin;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a stack product in Example 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a laminated composite whereina face material in a longitudinally and laterally orthogonal state islaminated on a core material;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a device for producing alaminated composite of Example 9;

FIGS. 6(a), 6(b), 6(c) and 6(d) are side views each illustrating asupplying roll;

FIG. 7(a) is a perspective view illustrating a sheet meanderingcorrecting device, FIG. 7(b) is a front view of a tension adjustingfunction, and FIGS. 7(c) and 7(d) are plan views illustrating anarrangement of a plurality of narrow sheets constituting a longitudinalsheet;

FIGS. 8(a) and 8(b) are perspective views illustrating a lateral sheetsupplying means, FIG. 8(c) is a side view illustrating the lateral sheetsupplying means, and FIG. 8(d) is a side view illustrating a servomotor;

FIG. 9(a) is a front view illustrating a heating roll, FIG. 9(b) is aside view illustrating the heating roll and a stand, and FIGS. 9(c),9(d) and 9(e) are side views illustrating a driving device of theheating roll;

FIGS. 10(a) and 10(b) are side views illustrating a modification of adevice for producing a laminated composite of Example 9;

FIG. 11(a) is a side view illustrating an example of a device forproducing a laminated composite of Example 10, and FIG. 11(b)illustrates an example wherein a non-melting sheet is supplied onto thesurface thereof;

FIG. 12(a) is a side view illustrating another modification of thedevice for producing a laminated composite of Example 10, and FIG. 12(b)illustrates an example wherein a non-melting sheet is supplied onto thesurface thereof;

FIG. 13(a) is a side view illustrating a still another modification ofthe device for producing a laminated composite of Example 10, and FIG.13(b) illustrates an example wherein a non-melting sheet or a meltingsheet is supplied on to the surface thereof;

FIG. 14 is a side view illustrating one embodiment for making a surfacefunctional;

FIG. 15(a) is a side view illustrating a device for producing alaminated composite of Example 11, and FIGS. 15(b) and 15(c) are planviews illustrating a lateral sheet supplying means;

FIGS. 16(a) and 16(d) are side views illustrating a mechanism fordelivering cut pieces of a lateral sheet, and FIGS. 16(b) and 16(c) areplan views illustrating the mechanism for delivering cut pieces of alateral sheet;

FIG. 17(a) is a side view illustrating a device for producing alaminated composite of Example 12, FIG. 17(b) is a perspective view of amain part of the device, and FIG. 17(c) is a perspective viewillustrating a laminated composite produced in this device;

FIG. 18(a) is a side view illustrating a device for producing alaminated composite of Example 13, and FIG. 18(b) is a front view of thedevice;

FIG. 19(a) is a side view illustrating a cassette in which cut pieces ofa lateral sheet are stored, FIG. 19(b) is a side view illustrating ameans for supplying cut pieces of the lateral sheet, FIG. 19(c) is aside view illustrating a servo motor, FIG. 19(d) is a front viewillustrating a suction roll, FIG. 19(e) is a side view illustrating amechanism for delivering cut pieces of the lateral sheet, and FIG. 19(f)is a front view illustrating a mechanism for continuously supplyinglateral sheets;

FIG. 20 is a perspective view illustrating an arrangement of a pluralityof narrow sheets constituting a longitudinal sheet;

FIG. 21 is a perspective view illustrating a device for producing alaminated composite of Example 14; and

FIG. 22 is a perspective view illustrating a device for producing alaminated composite of Example 15.

BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The present invention will be more specifically described by way ofExamples.

i) Preparation of Sheet-Form Core Material with Face Materials (FoamedBody Sheet with Face Materials)

(1) Preparation of Modified Polyolefin Resin

As a modifying screw extruder, BT 40 two-axis screw extruder(manufactured by Research Laboratory of Plastics Technology Co., Ltd.),the axes being rotated in the same direction, was used. This has 2self-wiping screws. The L/D thereof is 35, and the D thereof is 39 mm.Its cylinder barrel is composed of 1^(st) to 6^(th) barrels from theupper stream of the extruder to the lower stream thereof. Its die is astrand die having three holes. A vacuum vent is installed in the 4^(th)barrel in order to recollect volatile components.

Operation conditions are as follows.

-   -   Cylinder barrel set temperature: 1^(st) barrel; 180° C.        -   2^(nd) to 6^(th) barrels; 220° C. die; 220° C.    -   Screw rotation number: 150 rpm

First, a polyolefin resin was charged into a modifying screw extruderhaving the above-mentioned structure from its rear end hopper. From thethird barrel, a mixture of a modifying monomer and an organic peroxidewas put into the extruder, and these were melted and mixed to yield amodified resin. At this time, volatile components generated in theextruder were subjected to vacuum drawing from the vacuum vent.

The polyolefin resin was a polypropylene random copolymer (EX6manufactured by Japan Polychem Corp., MFR; 1.8, density; 0.9 g/cm³), andthe supply amount thereof was set to 10 kg/h. The modifying monomer wasdivinylbenzene, and the supply amount thereof was set to 0.5 part byweight per 100 parts by weight of the polyolefin resin. The organicperoxide was 2,5-dimethyl-2,5-di(t-butylperoxide)hexyne-3, and thesupply amount thereof was set to 0.1 part by weight per 100 parts byweight of the polyolefin resin.

The modified resin yielded by melting and mixing the polyolefin resin,the modifying monomer and the organic peroxide was jetted out from thestrand die, cooled with water, and cut with a pelletizer to obtainpellets made of the modified resin.

(2) Preparation of Foaming Resin Composition

A screw extruder for kneading a foaming agent was a two-axis screwextruder, TEX-44 model (manufactured by Nippon Steel Corp.), the axesbeing rotated in the same direction. This has 2 self-wiping screws. TheL/D thereof is 45.5, and the D thereof is 47 mm. Its cylinder barrel iscomposed of 1^(st) to 12^(th) barrels from the upper stream of theextruder to the lower stream thereof. Its forming die is a strand diehaving 7 holes. Temperature-setting divisions are as follows.

The 1^(st) barrel was constantly cooled.

-   -   2^(nd) zone; the 2^(th) to the 4^(th) barrels    -   2^(nd) zone; the 5^(th) to the 8^(th) barrels    -   3^(rd) zone; the 9^(th) to the 12^(th) barrels    -   4^(th) zone; the die and an adaptor section

A side feeder is installed to the sixth barrel to supply a foamingagent, and a vacuum vent is installed in the eleventh barrel in order torecollect volatile components. Operation conditions were as follows.

-   -   Cylinder barrel set temperature: 1^(st) zone; 150° C.        -   2^(nd) zone; 170° C.        -   3^(rd) zone; 180° C.        -   4^(th) zone; 160° C.    -   Screw rotation number: 40 rpm

The modified resin obtained as described above and a homo typepolypropylene (FY4 manufactured by Japan Polychem Corp., MFR; 5.0,density; 0.9 g/cm³) were supplied, in respective supply amounts of 10kg/h, to the screw extruder for kneading the foaming agent. The foamingagent was supplied from the side feeder to the extruder. The foamingagent was azodicarbonamide (ADCA), and the supply amount thereof was setto 1.0 kg/h. A foaming resin composition was obtained by kneading themodified resin and the foaming agent in this way.

(3) Preparation of Foaming Sheet

This foaming resin composition was extruded from a T die, to obtain apolyolefin resin foaming sheet having a width of 350 mm and a thicknessof 0.5 mm.

(4) Preparation of Foaming Sheet with Face Material

In Examples 1 to 6 and Comparative Examples 2 to 3, polyethyleneterephthalate nonwoven fabrics (Spunbond Ecoole 630 1A, manufactured byToyobo Co., Ltd., grammage; 30 g/m²) as face materials were laminated onboth faces of the above-mentioned polyolefin resin foaming sheet. Apress-forming machine was used to perform press-forming at a temperatureof 180° C., to obtain a foaming sheet with the face material.

In Comparative Example 1, Teflon sheets were laminated on both faces ofthe above-mentioned foaming sheet, and a hand press machine was used toperform diluting at 180° C. to obtain a foaming sheet with the facematerial.

(5) Foaming

From the resultant foaming sheet with the face material, the peripheralportion thereof was removed to obtain a sample of 300 mm square. Thissample was heated in an oven at 230° C. for approximately 5 minutes, tocause the foaming sheet to foam. In this way, a polyolefin resin foamedbody sheet having a thickness of 8 mm was obtained.

In Comparative Example 1, the resin was cooled and solidified after thefoaming. Thereafter, the laminated Teflon sheets were stripped to obtaina foamed body sheet having a surface made of the polyolefin resin.

(6) Impregnation with Synthetic Resin

In Examples 2, 3 and 5, a synthetic resin film of 60 μm thickness, whichwill be described later, was stacked on the face materials of the foamedbody sheet with the face material, obtained in the previous step (5),and then the hand press machine heated to 120° C. was used to apply aload to the stack product in such a manner that a compressive strain of0.4 mm (5%) would be applied to the foamed body sheet, and the stackproduct was heated for 1 minute to obtain a synthetic resin impregnatedfoamed body sheet.

(7) Evaluation of Synthetic Resin Impregnated Foamed Body Sheet

The resultant polyolefin resin foamed body sheet was evaluated aboutitems described below.

Foaming Magnification:

The face materials were scratched off from the laminated composite witha cutter, and subsequently the apparent density thereof was measuredaccording to JIS K-6767 Polyethylene Foam Test. The reciprocal numberthereof was defined as the foaming magnification.

Cell Shape (Average Aspect Ratio):

The laminated composite sheet was cut along the thickness direction (thez direction). While the center of the section thereof was observed withan optical microscope, an enlarged photograph thereof was taken with 15magnifications. Dz and Dxy of all of the photographed cells weremeasured with a vernier micrometer. Dz/Dxy of each of the cells was thencalculated. The number average of the values Dz/Dxy of the cells in thenumber of 100 was calculated and defined as the average aspect ratio. Inthe measurement, however, the cells having a Dz (actual diameter) of0.05 mm or less and the cells having a Dz of 10 mm or more wereexcluded.

Melting Point

In the step (2), a polyolefin resin composition containing no foamingagent (ADCA) was prepared. A differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) wasused to read out the peak temperature of this. The melting point thereofwas 148° C.

ii) Preparation of Synthetic Resin Film Laminated Drawn Sheet

(1) Preparation of Extruded Sheet

One part by weight of benzophenone (a photopolymerization initiator) wasblended per 100 parts by weight of high density polyethylene (tradename: HY540, manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Corp., MFR=1.0, meltingpoint; 133° C., weight average molecular weight; 300000). The blendproduct was melted and kneaded in a 30-mm biaxial extruder at a resintemperature of 200° C., and then extruded into a sheet-form through a Tdie. The resultant product was cooled with a cooling roll to obtain anon-drawn sheet having a thickness of 1.0 mm and a width of 200 mm.

(2) Rolling and Crosslinking

A 6-inch roll (manufactured by Kodaira Seisakusyo Co., Ltd.) havingsurface temperature set to 100° C. was used to roll this non-drawn sheetup to a draw magnification of 9 times. Thereafter, the resultant rolledsheet was sent out by rolls having a sending-out rate of 2 m/minute,passed through a heating furnace having atmosphere temperature set to85° C., pulled and taken by rolls having a pulling rate of 6 m/minute soas to be rolled up to a draw magnification of 3 times and wound out.Next, a high-pressure mercury lamp was illuminated onto both faces ofthe resultant sheet for 5 seconds so that the sheet was crosslinked. Atlast, the resultant sheet was subjected to relieving treatment at 130°C. under non-tension for 1 minute.

The drawn sheet obtained by way of the above-mentioned operations had awidth of 100 mm and a thickness of 0.20 mm and was transparent. Thetotal draw magnification of this sheet was 27 times, and the linearexpansion coefficient thereof was −1.5×10⁻⁵ The melting point [the peaktemperature in a DSC (differential scanning calorimeter)] of this drawnsheet was 135° C.

(3) Local Melting

In Examples 3, 4 and 5, the polyolefin resin drawn sheet obtained asdescribed above was passed between a first roll which was rotated at arotation speed of 3 m/minute and had a surface temperature of 180° C.and a second roll which was rotated at the same speed and had a surfacetemperature of 50° C. in such a manner that the pressure was 100 kg/cm²,so as to be continuously compressed. As a result, the face of the drawnsheet which was in contact with the first roll was melted. Next, bytreating the opposite face of the drawn sheet in the same manner asdescribed above, a drawn sheet having both faces melted was obtained.

(4) Synthetic Resin Film Laminated Drawn Sheet

In Examples 3, 4 and 5, the first roll having surface temperature set to160° C. and the second roll having surface temperature set to50° C. wererotated at respective rotation speeds of 3 m/minute. A synthetic resinfilm having a thickness of 60 μm, which will be described later, wasstacked on the drawn sheet obtained in the previous step (3), and thisstack product was passed between in such a manner that the syntheticresin film made in contact with the first roll and the pressure was 100kg/cm², so as to perform laminating continuously. In this way, asynthetic resin film laminated drawn sheet was obtained.

(5) Evaluation of Drawn Sheet

The linear expansion coefficient and the tensile elasticity of the drawnsheet were measured by the following methods.

Linear Expansion Coefficient:

Index lines having an interval of approximately 150 mm were written onthe sample, and subsequently the sample was allowed to stand still in athermostat set to 5° C. for 1 hour. The distances between the indexlines was measured at 5° C. Next, the sample was allowed to stand stillin the thermostat set to 80° C. for 1 hour. Thereafter, the distancebetween the index lines was measured in the same way. This operation wasrepeated 3 times. The distance between the index lines at 5° C. and 80°C. was measured in the second and third operations, and the averagethereof was obtained. From the following equation, the linear expansioncoefficient was calculated:Linear expansion coefficient (1/° C.)=(distance between the index linesat 80° C.−distance between the index lines at 5° C.)/{(distance betweenthe index lines at 5° C.)×(80−5)}.Tensile Elasticity:

The tensile elasticity was measured according to the tension test of JISK 7113.

Preparation of Synthetic Resin Film

A low density polyethylene (LC 600A manufactured by Mitsubishi ChemicalCorp., MFR; 7, melting point; 107° C.) was melted and kneaded at a resintemperature of 180° C. in a biaxial extruder, extruded into a sheet-fromthrough a T die, and cooled by a cooling roll, to obtain a syntheticresin film having a thickness of 60 μm and a width of 100 mm.

iii) Production of Laminated Composite

(1) Stacking of Sheets or Films

As illustrated in FIG. 3, in Example 2, the respective material sheetsor films were stacked on each other to obtain a stack product of thedrawn sheet (203)/the synthetic resin film (202)/the synthetic resinimpregnated foamed body sheet (201)/the synthetic resin film (202)/thedrawn sheet (203).

In Examples 1, 3 to 5, and Comparative Examples 1 and 2, the materialsheets or films were stacked on each other as described below. Theplurality of drawn sheets corresponding to the upper and the lower facesof a laminated composite were arranged in such a manner that the drawndirection thereof would be plane-symmetrical with respect to the foamedbody sheet.

EXAMPLE 1 Drawn Sheet/Two Synthetic Resin Films/Foamed Body Sheet/TwoSynthetic Resin Films/Drawn Sheet EXAMPLE 2 Drawn Sheet/Synthetic ResinFilm/Synthetic Resin Impregnated Foamed Body Sheet/Synthetic ResinFilm/Drawn Sheet EXAMPLE 3 Synthetic Resin Film Laminated DrawnSheet/Synthetic Resin Film/Foamed Body Sheet/Synthetic ResinFilm/Synthetic Resin Film Laminated Drawn Sheet EXAMPLE 4 SyntheticResin Film Laminated Drawn Sheet/Synthetic Resin Impregnated Foamed BodySheet/Synthetic Resin Film Laminated Drawn Sheet EXAMPLE 5 SyntheticResin Film Laminated Drawn Sheet (0°)/Synthetic Resin Film LaminatedDrawn Sheet (90°)/Synthetic Resin Impregnated Foamed BodySheet/Synthetic Resin Film Laminated Drawn Sheet (90°)/Synthetic ResinFilm Laminated Drawn Sheet (0°) COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 1 Drawn Sheet AfterHeated to 160° C., which will be Described Later/Foamed Body Sheet withno Face Material/Drawn Sheet after Heated to 160° C. COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE2 Drawn Sheet/Two Synthetic Resin Films/Foamed Body Sheet/Two SyntheticResin Films/Drawn Sheet

(2) Heating, Pressing and Cooling

In Examples 1 to 5, each of the above-mentioned stack products washeated to 120° C. (and 110° C. in Example 1) from its upper and lowersides, using a hand press machine. The product was pressed in such amanner that a compressive strain of 0.4 mm (5%) was applied to thefoamed body sheet, so as to perform press-forming for 2 minutes.Thereafter, the stack product was pressed by water-cooling press in sucha manner that a compressive strain of 5% would be generated in the sameway.

In Example 6, among the drawn sheets used in Example 1, the sheet rolled9 times in the drawing step was used. At the time of laminating bypress, both ends of the drawn sheet were clipped and a tension of 0.5kgf/cm was applied thereto in the sheet oriented direction. In thisstate, heating and laminating were carried out. Except this, the samemanner as in Example 1 was carried out. As a result, a good laminatedcomposite was obtained.

In Example 7, instead of the polyolefin resin foamed body sheetdescribed in Example 1, an acrylic foamed body (Rohacell manufactured byRohm Co., Ltd. foaming magnification; 20 times, thermal deformationtemperature; 130° C.) was used, and as a synthetic resin film used foradhesion, an SEBS film CS-S manufactured by Sekisui Film Co., Ltd. wasused. The structure of the stack product and the heating temperaturewere set to the same in Example 1.

In Example 8, instead of the polyolefin resin foamed body sheetdescribed in Example 1, a thermoplastic resin plastic hollow body(Sunply manufactured by Sumika Plastech Co., Ltd. thickness; 7 mm) wasused, and as a synthetic resin film used for adhesion, a VLDPE filmSE605M manufactured by Tamapoly Co., Ltd. was used. The structure of thestack product and the heating temperature were set to the same inExample 1.

In Comparative Example 1, the drawn sheets were fixed with clips, andallowed to stand still in an oven heated to 160° C. for 2 minutes. Thedrawn sheets were wholly shrunk and a part thereof was melted. Thisdrawn sheet was taken out from the oven, and the above-mentioned foamedbody sheet with no face material was immediately sandwiched between thedrawn sheets. A hand press machine was used to heat the stack productfrom its upper and lower sides at 50° C., and a pressure was appliedthereto in such a manner that a compressive strain of 5% would begenerated in the foamed body sheet with no face material. The stackproduct was allowed to stand still for 2 minutes to obtain a laminatedcomposite. The surfaces of this laminated product, in which numerousirregularities were generated, were not smooth.

In Comparative Example 2, the thickness control as described above waschanged to a pressure controlling manner. At a pressure of 0.8 MPa andtemperatures of 110° C. and 120° C., heating/pressing andcooling/pressing were performed in the same way as described above, toobtain a laminated product.

In Comparative Example 3, at the time of heating and laminating, thelaminating was performed without applying any tension in Example 8. As aresult, the sheet was shrunk, and the surfaces of this laminatedcomposite, in which numerous irregularities were generated, were notsmooth.

(3) Evaluation of Laminated Composites

The resultant laminated composites were evaluated about the followingitems.

Thickness

A vernier micrometer was used to measure the thickness of the laminatedcomposites.

Bending Strength and Bend Plastic Constant:

The bend plastic constant and the bending strength were measured at atest speed of 10 mm/minute on the basis of JIS K7203. The samples havingdirectivity were measured along their drawn direction.

Linear Expansion Coefficient

The linear expansion coefficient was obtained in the same way asdescribed above. The samples having directivity were measured alongtheir drawn direction.

The structures and the evaluation results of Examples and ComparativeExamples are collectively shown in Table 1. Example 1 Example 2 Example3 Example 4 Foamed Foaming magnification Times 10 10 10 10 body sheetAspect ratio 2 2 2 2 Melting point ° C. 148 148 148 149 Thickness mm 8 88 8 Drawn sheet Melting point ° C. 135 135 135 135 Direction MonoaxialMonoaxial Monoaxial Monoaxial Thickness μm 300 300 300 300 Number of thelaminated Number 1 1 1 1 sheet(s) on the single side Shrinkage starting° C. 125 125 125 125 temperature Local melting Not observed Not ObservedObserved observed Linear expansion coefficient *10−5 −1.5 −1.5 −1.5 −1.5Tensile elasticity Gpa 24 24 24 24 Synthetic Melting point ° C. 105 105105 105 resin Thickness μm 120 60 60 Penetration into the foamed μm 6060 body Lamination to drawn sheet μm 60 60 Pressing Heating temperature° C. 110 120 120 120 120 process Manner Thickness Thickness ThicknessThickness Thickness control control control control control Compressiveratio of the % 5 5 5 5 5 foamed body Pressure Mpa Tension to the sheetkgf/1 cm 0 0 0 0 Laminated Thickness mm 8.6 8.6 8.6 8.6 8.6 compositeBending strength Mpa 8.0 9.0 11.0 11.0 13.0 Bend elastic constant Gpa1.2 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.5 Linear expansion coefficient ×10−5/° C. −1 −1.1 −1.2−1.2 −1.3 Example 5 Example 6 Example 7 Example 8 Foamed Foamingmagnification Times 10 10     20     20 body sheet Aspect ratio 2 2    0.9     0.9 Melting point ° C. 148 148   (130)    (75) Thickness mm8 8     8     8 Drawn sheet Melting point ° C. 135 135    135    135Direction Orthogonal Monoaxial Monoaxial Thickness μm 300 300 300 Numberof the laminated Number 2 1 1 sheet(s) on the single side Shrinkagestarting ° C. 125 105 125 temperature Local melting Observed Not Notobserved observed Linear expansion coefficient *10−5 −1.5 0.5 −1.5Tensile elasticity Gpa 24 8 24 Synthetic Melting point ° C. 105 105 (−)(−) resin Thickness μm 120    120    120 Penetration into the foamed μm60 body Lamination to drawn sheet μm 60 Pressing Heating temperature °C. 120 120    120     70 process Manner Thickness Thickness ThicknessThickness control control control control Compressive ratio of the % 5    5     5 foamed body Pressure Mpa Tension to the sheet kgf/1 cm 0 0.5    0     0 Laminated Thickness mm 8.6 8.6     8.6     7.6 compositeBending strength Mpa 13.0 9.5     9.5     11.0 Bend elastic constant Gpa1.5 0.8     1.4     2.0 Linear expansion coefficient ×10−5/° C. −1.3−1.1   −1.1   −1.2 Comparative Comparative Comparative Example 1 Example2 Example 3 Foamed Foaming magnification Times 10 10 10 body sheetAspect ratio 2 2 2 Melting point ° C. 148 148 148 Thickness mm 8 8 8Drawn sheet Melting point ° C. 135 135 135 Direction Monoaxial MonoaxialMonoaxial Thickness μm 300 300 300 Number of the laminated Number 1 1 1sheet(s) on the single side Shrinkage starting ° C. 125 125 105temperature Local melting Not observed Not observed Not observed Linearexpansion coefficient *10−5 −1.5 −1.5 0.5 Tensile elasticity Gpa 24 24 8Synthetic Melting point ° C. Not observed 105 105 resin Thickness μm 120120 Penetration into the foamed μm body Lamination to drawn sheet μmPressing Heating temperature ° C. 160 110 120 120 process MannerThickness Pressure Pressure Thickness control control control controlCompressive ratio of the % 5 8 15 foamed body Pressure Mpa 0.8 0.8Tension to the sheet kgf/1 cm 0 0 0 0 Laminated Thickness mm 8.7 8.5 88.7 composite Bending strength Mpa 3.0 8.3 6.5 3.1 Bend elastic constantGpa 0.7 1.3 1.2 0.6 Linear expansion coefficient ×10−5/° C. 4 −1 −1 4.5

As is evident from Table 1, in the laminated composites of Examples 1 to8, the drawn sheets are not shrunk and the foamed bodies do not buckle.They have larger bending strengths and bend elastic constants ascompared with that of Comparative Example 1, and are high-strengthlaminated composites. Moreover, they have small linear expansioncoefficients so as to be good in dimensional stability.

In Examples 1 to 8, the pressing quantity is controlled by thecompressive strain quantity of the foamed body sheets; therefore, evenif the heating temperature changes, laminated composites having auniform thickness can be produced as compared with Comparative Example2, wherein pressure control is performed.

Next, Examples will be given hereinafter in order to describe thepresent invention of claims 9 to 20 in more detail. The presentinvention are not limited to only these Examples.

EXAMPLE 9

As a core material, a polypropylene foamed body having a foamingmagnification of 10 times, a thickness of 10 mm and a width of 1200 mmwas used. As a sheet for a face material, a polyethylene drawn sheethaving a thickness of 0.2 mm and a width of 1000 mm was used. As anadhesive layer, a very low density polyethylene film (manufactured byTamapoly Co., Ltd.) having a thickness 60 μm was previously laminated onone face of the sheet for the face material.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, a device for producing a laminated compositeof this Example (the production device of claim 9) includes a corematerial supplying means for supplying a core material (C) in thelongitudinal direction, a longitudinal sheet supplying means forsupplying a longitudinal sheet (S1) for a face material, in thelongitudinal direction, on at least one face of the core material (C), alateral sheet supplying means for supplying a lateral sheet (S2) for theface material, in the lateral direction, on the upper or lower face ofthe longitudinal sheet (S1), and a sheet thermocompression-bonding meansfor pressing the longitudinal sheet (S1) and the lateral sheet (S2),which are stacked in an orthogonal form, onto the core material (C)under heating.

The method for producing a laminated composite of this Example (theproduction method of claim 10) includes a core material supplying stepof supplying a core material (C) in the longitudinal direction, alongitudinal sheet supplying step of supplying a longitudinal sheet (S1)for a face material, in the longitudinal direction, on at least one faceof the core material (C), a lateral sheet supplying step of supplying alateral sheet (S2) for the face material, in the lateral direction, onthe upper or lower face of the longitudinal sheet (S1), and a sheetthermocompression-bonding step of pressing the longitudinal sheet (S1)and the lateral sheet (S2), which are stacked in an orthogonal form,onto the core material (C) under heating.

The core supplying means for supplying the core material (C) in thelongitudinal direction has a pair of upper and lower supplying rolls (1)having a diameter of 200 mm, and a plurality of feed rollers (19)arranged at the lower stream of the lower supplying roll (1). Asillustrated in FIG. 6(a), the pair of the upper and lower supplyingrolls (1) are driven through a belt (14) by a driving device (6). Thecore material (C) sandwiched between these supplying rolls (1) is fedonto the feed roll (19) at a line speed of 1 m/minute.

The supplying rolls (1) may be rubber rolls, metal rolls or resin rolls.As illustrated in FIG. 6(b), the lower roll (15) is lifted or lowered bya lifting device (7) such as an oil pressure cylinder or an aircylinder, and the core material (C) may be closely interposed betweenthe supplying rollers (1).

Examples of the core material supplying means other than the supplyingrolls include a device for feeding the core material (C) by belts orcaterpillars (8), between which the core material (C) is interposed, asillustrated in FIG. 6(c); and a device for feeding the core material (C)by a roll (9) wherein only its upper face makes in contact with the corematerial (C) as illustrated in FIG. 6(d). The core material supplyingmeans may be a means having capability of feeding the core material at aconstant speed. In these figures, the reference numeral (14) denotes abelt.

The longitudinal sheet supplying means for pulling out the longitudinalsheet, in the longitudinal direction, onto the upper face of the corematerial has a reel (2) on which the longitudinal sheet (S1) is wound,and a press roll (5) for pressing the longitudinal sheet (S1) pulled outfrom the reel (2) to the surface of the core material (C) along thisagainst the core material (C).

As illustrated in FIG. 7(a), at the lower stream of the reel (2), asheet meandering correcting device is provided for sensing a deviationin the width direction between the core material (C) and thelongitudinal sheet (S1) with a position sensor (10) to correct thecenter of the longitudinal sheet (S1) to the center of the corematerial. The sheet meandering correcting device includes a widthdirection moving device, as illustrated in FIG. 7(b), in order tocorrect the width direction deviation when it is sensed. This movingdevice has, for example, a rail (11) arranged in the width direction,the reel (2) which can move thereon, and a cylinder (12) for moving thisin the width direction.

In order that the longitudinal sheet (S1) may not loosen, there isprovided a tension adjusting function of braking the rotation of thereel (2) by pad brakes (13) between which the axis of the reel (2) isinterposed and giving a constant tension to the longitudinal sheet (SI).

In order that the longitudinal sheet made of a plurality of narrowsheets (S3) can be laminated on the core material (C), the narrow sheets(S3) may be arranged in parallel (FIG. 7(c)) or in a staggered form(FIG. 7(d)).

When the state of supplying the longitudinal sheet becomes stable, thelateral sheet (S2) for a face material is supplied in a directionperpendicular to the core material feed direction, that is, the lateraldirection by the lateral sheet supplying means.

As illustrated in FIG. 8(a), the lateral sheet supplying means has areel (21) on which the lateral sheet (S2) is wound, and a driving device(22) for driving the reel (21) to send the lateral sheet (S2) in thelateral direction.

The lateral sheet supplying means also includes a reel (24) arranged inthe feed direction of the core material (C), the reel (21) which canmove thereon, and a cylinder (23) for moving this in the feed directionof the core material (C) at a speed equal to this. When the lateralsheet (S2) is sent out by the width of the core material (C), thelateral sheet (S2) is cut by a cutter (25) and the resultant cut piece(36) is adhered to the surface of the core material (C). Thereafter, thereel (21) is returned to the original position so as to send out anotherlateral sheet again. This operation is repeated.

The lateral sheet supplying means also has a tension adjusting functionbased on pad brakes (28) in the same manner as the longitudinal sheetsupplying means.

As illustrated in FIG. 8(b), in another example of the lateral sheetsupplying means, the lateral sheet (S2) is sent out by the width of thecore material (C), so that the lateral sheet (S2) is cut by a cutter(33). The cut piece (36) is attracted on an attracting pad (34), carriedonto the surface of the core material by a cylinder (35), and laminatedon the core material.

As illustrated in FIG. 8(c), in still another example, the lateral sheet(S2) is previously cut into a length equal to the width of the corematerial (C). A great number of the cut pieces (36) are stacked inside acassette (41), and one of the cut pieces (36) is attracted on anattracting pad (43) at the tip of a carriage device (42), rotated by180°, carried and laminated onto the surface of the core material (C).This operation is repeated. For the 180°-rotation, a servo motor (44)illustrated in FIG. 8(d) is used.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the sheet thermocompression-bonding meanspresses the longitudinal sheet (S1) and the lateral sheet (S2) stackedin an orthogonal form on the core material (C) under heating.

In the state that the longitudinal sheet (S1) and the lateral sheet (S2)are laminated on the surface of the core material (C), these are fed toa pair of upper and lower heating rolls (4) having a diameter of 300 mmand a clearance of 10 mm. At a temperature of 120° C. and a line speedof 1 m/minute, the longitudinal sheet (S1) and the lateral sheet (S2)are pressed on the core material (C) under heating by the heating rolls(4) at a line speed of 1 m/minute, and further they are fed by thedriving of the rolls.

As illustrated in FIG. 9(a), the pair of the upper and lower heatingrolls (4) is rotated and driven by a driving device (51), and oil orwater as a hot medium is circulated inside a temperature adjustor (52)provided with an electric heater. The heating rolls (4) are rubberrolls, resin rolls or metal rolls, and only the surface thereof may becoated with rubber or resin.

The core material (C) and the sheets for the face material may beinterposed between the two heating rolls (4) under pressure, or may beinterposed between one heating roll (4) and a flat stand (17) and underpressure, as illustrated in FIG. 9(b).

As illustrated in FIG. 9(c), the driving device (51) for the heatingrolls (4) is made to rotate the heating rolls (4) through a belt (14).As illustrated in FIG. 9(d), the lower heating roll (4) is made to belifted and lowered by a hydraulic cylinder (53). As illustrated in FIG.9(e), a cotter (54) is attached to the lower heating roll. (4) so thatthe clearance between the rolls can be adjusted.

In FIG. 10(a), a pair of upper and lower lateral sheets (S2) is sent outonto the upper and lower faces of the core material (C), as describedabove. Next, the longitudinal sheet (S1) is supplied along the peripheryof the pair of the upper and lower heating rolls (4). Thereafter, thelongitudinal sheet (S1) and the lateral sheets (S2) may be melted andbonded to the core material (C), under heating and pressing, by theheating rolls (4). As illustrated in FIG. 10(b), the longitudinal sheet(S1) is first supplied along the periphery of the pair of the upper andlower heating rolls (4), and next a pair of upper and lower lateralsheets (S2) is sent out onto the upper and lower faces of the corematerial (C), as described above. Thereafter, the longitudinal sheet(S1) and the lateral sheets (S2) can be melted and bonded to the corematerial (C), under pressing and heating, by another pair of upper andlower heating rolls (18).

The longitudinal sheet (S1) and the lateral sheets (S2) may be laminatedon at least one face of the core material (C). If a cooling roll, an aircooling or the like is necessary after the melting and bonding, it isset up just after the heating rolls.

This process allows continuous production of laminated compositeswherein the face material in a longitudinal and laterally orthogonalstate, which has a width of 1000 mm, is laminated on the core materialhaving a thickness of 10 mm and a width of 1200 mm, illustrated in FIG.4.

EXAMPLE 10

As illustrated in each of FIGS. 11, 12 and 13, a device for producing alaminated composite of this Example (another embodiment of theproduction device of claim 9) includes a core material supplying meansfor supplying a core material (C) in the longitudinal direction, alongitudinal sheet supplying means for supplying a longitudinal sheet(S1) for a face material in the longitudinal direction onto at least oneface of the core material (C), a lateral sheet supplying means forsupplying a lateral sheet (S2) for the face material in the lateraldirection onto the upper or lower face of the longitudinal sheet (S1),and a sheet thermocompression-bonding means for pressing thelongitudinal sheet (S1) and the lateral sheet (S2), stacked in anorthogonal form, against the core material under heating.

The method for producing a laminated composite of this Example (anotherembodiment of the production method of claim 10) includes a corematerial supplying step of supplying a core material (C) in thelongitudinal direction, a longitudinal sheet supplying step of supplyinga longitudinal sheet (S1) for a face material in the longitudinaldirection onto at least one face of the core material (C), a lateralsheet supplying step of supplying a lateral sheet (S2) for the facematerial in the lateral direction onto the upper or lower face of thelongitudinal sheet (S1), and a sheet thermocompression-bonding step ofpressing the longitudinal sheet (S1) and the lateral sheet (S2), stackedin an orthogonal form, against the core material under heating.

Hereinafter, points different from Example 9 will be described. To thesame reference numerals as in Example 9 are attached the same referencenumerals, and description thereof will not be repeated.

A device (a method) for producing a laminated composite of Example 10further includes a sheet cooling means (step) after the sheetthermocompression-bonding means (step).

In a device for producing a laminated composite illustrated in FIGS.11(a) and 11(b), its sheet cooling means has a plurality of pairs (threepairs in FIGS. 11(a) and 11(b)) of upper and lower cooling rolls (16).Cooling water is supplied into the cooling rolls (16). The core material(C) and the sheets (S1) and (S2) for the face material are interposedbetween the pairs of the upper and lower cooling rolls (16) underpressure. The respective cooling rolls (16) are rotated by the movementof the core material (C) and the sheets (S1) and (S2) for the facematerial. The cooling rolls (16) are rubber rolls, resin rolls, metalrolls or the like, and may be metal rolls having surfaces coated withrubber or resin.

In a device for producing a laminated composite illustrated in FIGS.12(a) and 12(b), as the sheet thermocompression-bonding means, a pair ofupper and lower heating presses (26) is used instead of the heatingrolls (4), and a sheet cooling means has a pair of upper and lowercooling presses (27) having a size equal to that of the heating presses(26). Inside the heating presses (26), heaters are set up. Cooling wateris supplied into the cooling presses (27). The core material (C) and theface material sheets (S1) and (S2) are carried in the state that thesheets (S1) and (S2) are laminated in an orthogonal form, and firstheated and pressed by the pair of the heating presses (26). Thereafter,they are cooled by the pair of the cooling presses (27). The feed of thecore material (C) and the face material sheets (S1) and (S2) isintermittently performed at a pitch of the width of the presses (26) and(27). A gap corresponding to one of the pitches is set between theheating presses (26) and the cooling rolls (27). This makes continuousproduction of laminated products possible. Of course, the method ofheating the heating presses (26) may be one other than the heater andthe method of cooling the cooling presses (27) may be some other method.

In a production method for a laminated composite illustrated in FIGS.13(a) and 13(b), as the sheet thermocompression-bonding means, a pair ofupper and lower heating presses (4) is used, and further a pair of upperand lower cooling presses (29) having a size equal to that of theheating rolls (4) is used as a sheet cooling means. The upper rolls (4)and (29) are connected to each other and the lower rolls (4) and (29)are connected to each other by means of endless belts (30),respectively. The core material (C) and the face material sheets (S1)and (S2) are sandwiched between the pair of the upper rolls (4) andbetween the pair of the lower rolls (29) and pressed by the upper rollsand the lower rolls, respectively, thorough belts. Portions of the upperand lower belts (30) contacting the lateral sheet (S2) are pressedagainst the sheet (S2) by plural pressing rolls (31) (three rolls inFIGS. 13(a) and 13(b)), respectively. As the material of the belts,glass fiber or aramide fiber into which Teflon is incorporated isusually used. The belts (30) may be metal belts made of stainless steelor the like. The core material (C) and the face material sheets (S1) and(S2) are carried in the state that the face material sheets (S1) and(S2) are laminated on each other in an orthogonal form, and then putbetween the belts (30) and pressed by the belts (30), so as to be sentout. At this time, the starting ends of the belts (30) are heated andpressed by the heating rolls (4) and the terminal ends of the belts arecooled by the cooling rolls (29). This makes continuous production oflaminated products possible.

The three production devices of FIGS. 11, 12 and 13 are appropriatelyselected dependently on subsequent processing. That is, in the case oflaminating a surface layer (specifically, nonwoven fabric, a resin film,a rubber sheet, a flame resistant material, a weather resistant materialor the like) which is not melted at the time of the laminating on thetopmost layer of the laminated composite in the subsequent processing inorder to give functions (decoration, bonding property, releasingability, sliding stop, flame resistance, weather resistance and so on)to the surface, it is advisable to use the device in the roll mannerillustrated in FIGS. 11(a) and 11(b) or the device in the belt mannerillustrated in FIGS. 13(a) and 13(b), and further supply a non-meltingsheet (S4) for forming the surface layer by means of the heating rolls(4) or the belt (30) as illustrated in FIGS. 11(b) and 13(b). Asillustrated in FIG. 12(b), by setting up heating rolls (4) for supplyingthe non-melting sheet separately before the heating press (26), thenon-melting surface layer can be formed even if the device in the pressmanner illustrated in FIG. 12(a) is used.

Among the above-mentioned face material sheets, the sheet having ahigher melting point than that of the face material sheet used as thesurface material can be appropriately used as the non-melting sheet.Examples thereof include a resin sheet, a paper sheet, a metal sheet, aceramic sheet, nonwoven fabric, and woven fabric.

Examples of the required function and the material for the function areas follows:

-   -   Decoration . . . a sheet into which pigment is filled, a printed        sheet, dyeing, or printed nonwoven fabric or woven fabric    -   Bonding . . . a sheet subjected to corona treatment, or a sheet        containing a material having a polar group    -   Releasing ability . . . a sheet having a low frictional        coefficient, a sheet painted or coated in order to lower its        frictional coefficient or a plated sheet.    -   Sliding stop . . . a sheet having a high frictional coefficient,        a sheet in which irregularities are made, or nonwoven fabric or        woven fabric in which resin or rubber is scattered    -   Flame resistance . . . a sheet containing a flame retardant, a        sheet made of nonflammable material (metal, ceramic or the        like), or a sheet painted or plated with nonflammable or flame        resistant material    -   Weather resistance . . . a sheet containing an UV absorber, or a        sheet for reflecting light

In the case of laminating a surface layer newly on the topmost layer,the surface layer may be deposited across an adhesive layer thereon. Theadhesive layer is not limited and may be as follows: simultaneouslamination of an HM film, coating with an adhesive agent by means of aroll coater, spot-coating with an adhesive agent, use of a face materialsheet on which an adhesive layer is beforehand laminated, or the like.

In the case of exhibiting decoration, bonding property, releasingability, flame resistance or weather resistance by a melting sheet, thebelt system illustrated in FIGS. 13(a) and 13(b) is selected. In FIG.13(b), the non-melting sheet (S4) is replaced by the melting sheet. Inthis way, the belt (30) keeps releasing ability in heating and melting,and cooling. Thus, the melting sheet can be used. Among theabove-mentioned materials of the face material sheet, the material whichcan be melted and has a lower melting point than the surface materialcan be used as the melting sheet.

Examples of the required function and the material for the function areas follows:

-   -   Decoration . . . a sheet into which pigment is filled    -   Bonding . . . an HM film, a sheet subjected to corona treatment,        or a sheet containing a material having a polar group    -   Releasing ability . . . a sheet having a low frictional        coefficient    -   Sliding stop . . . a sheet having a high frictional coefficient    -   Flame resistance . . . a sheet containing a flame retardant    -   Weather resistance . . . a sheet containing an UV absorber

In order to exhibit decoration, bonding property, releasing ability,flame resistance, weather resistance or the like by a melting resinhaving a low viscosity, a liquid paint or the like, a pair of upper andlower roll coaters (37) may be separately disposed as illustrated inFIG. 14. Each of the roll coaters (37) is composed of a paint tank (38),a trans flow roller (39) and a composition roller (40). While the corematerial (C) and the face material sheet (S1) and (S2) are put betweenthe composition rollers (40) and pressed by the rollers (40), a givenpaint can be applied to the lateral sheet (S2).

Examples of the required function and the material for the function areas follows:

-   -   Decoration . . . a melting resin into which pigment is filled,        or a liquid paint    -   Bonding . . . an HM melting resin, or a melting resin containing        a material having a polar group    -   Releasing ability . . . a melting resin having a low frictional        coefficient    -   Sliding stop . . . a melting resin having a high frictional        coefficient    -   Flame resistance . . . a melting resin containing a flame        retardant    -   Weather resistance . . . a melting resin containing an UV        absorber

EXAMPLE 11

As a core material, a polypropylene foamed body having a foamingmagnification of 10 times, a thickness of 10 mm and a width of 1200 mmwas used. As a sheet for a face material, a polyethylene drawn sheethaving a thickness of 0.2 mm and a width of 1000 mm and a polyethylenedrawn sheet having a thickness of 0.2 mm and a width of 500 mm wereused. As an adhesive layer, a very low density polyethylene film(manufactured by Tamapoly Co., Ltd.) having a thickness 60 μm wasbeforehand laminated on a single face of the face material sheet.

As illustrated in FIGS. 15(a) to 15(c), the device for producing alaminated composite of this Example (the production device of claim 11)has a core material supplying means for supplying a core material (C) inthe longitudinal direction, a longitudinal sheet supplying means forsupplying a longitudinal sheet (S1) for a face material, in thelongitudinal direction, on at least one face of the core material (C), alateral sheet supplying means for supplying a lateral sheet (S2) for theface material, in the lateral direction, on the upper face of thelongitudinal sheet (S1), and a sheet thermocompression-bonding means forpressing the longitudinal sheet (S1) and the lateral sheet (S2), whichare stacked in an orthogonal form, onto the core material (C) underheating, wherein at a position (73) where the longitudinal sheet (S1)starts to contact a heating roll (4) of the sheetthermocompression-bonding means the lateral sheet supplying meanssupplies a cut piece (108) of the lateral sheet (S2) between the heatingroll (4) and the longitudinal sheet (S1).

The method for producing a laminated composite of this Example (theproduction method of claim 12) includes a core material supplying stepof supplying a core material (C) in the longitudinal direction, alongitudinal sheet supplying step of supplying a longitudinal sheet (S1)for a face material, in the longitudinal direction, on at least one faceof the core material (C), a lateral sheet supplying step of supplying alateral sheet (S2) for the face material, in the lateral direction, onthe upper face of the longitudinal sheet (S1), a sheetthermocompression-bonding step of pressing the longitudinal sheet (S1)and the lateral sheet (S2), which are stacked in an orthogonal form,onto the core material (C) under heating, and a lateral sheet supplyingstep of supplying a cut piece (108) of the lateral sheet between aheating roll (4) and the longitudinal sheet (S1) at a position where thelongitudinal sheet (S1) starts to contact the heating roll (4) duringthe sheet thermocompression-bonding step.

As illustrated in FIG. 15(a), the core material (C) is first sent out ata line speed of 1 m/minute by a pair of upper and lower supplying rolls(1) of the same core material supplying as in Example 9, and then putbetween heating rolls (4) having a diameter of 300 mm and a clearance of10 mm and pressed by the rolls (4).

A pair of upper and lower longitudinal sheet supplying means is eachmade of a reel (2) on which the longitudinal sheet (S1) having a widthof 500 mm is wound, and is arranged at the lower stream of the heatingrolls (4) in the core material feed direction. The longitudinal sheet(S1) is carried along the periphery of the heating rolls (4) and heatedby the same rolls. Moreover, the longitudinal sheet (S1) together withthe core material (C) is put between the core material (C) and a contactportion (72) of the rolls (4), and pressed by them. By the feedingcapability of the heating rolls (4), the longitudinal sheet (S1) is sentout in the core material feed direction and laminated on the corematerial (C).

In the same manner as in Example 9, the longitudinal sheet supplyingmeans has a tension adjustor based on pad brakes, and a sheet meanderingcorrecting device based on a position sensor.

When the above-mentioned supply state becomes stable, the lateral sheet(S2) made of a polyethylene drawn sheet cut into a piece having a widthof 500 mm and a length of 1000 mm is supplied, from a lateral sheetsupplying device (3), in a direction perpendicular to the core materialfeed direction and between the heating rolls (4) and the longitudinalsheet (S1) at a position (73) where the longitudinal sheet (S1) startsto contact the heating rolls (4).

As illustrated in FIGS. 15(b) and (c), the lateral sheet supplying meansis composed of a lateral rail (81), a longitudinal rail (82) arrangedperpendicularly to this, laterally moving chucks (83) and (84) andlongitudinal moving chucks (85) and (86) for grasping the lateral sheet(S2), a cylinder (87) for moving the laterally moving chucks (83) and(84) in the lateral direction along the lateral rail (81), cylinders(88) and (89) for moving the longitudinal moving chucks (85) and (86) inthe longitudinal direction along the rail (82), and a cutter for cuttingthe sheets for a face material into a given length. Each of the chucks(83), (84), (85) and (86) has a cylinder and a spring, is closed bypressing action of the cylinder, and is opened by spring pressure whenthe cylinder is released.

In the lateral sheet supplying means having the above-mentionedstructure, the lateral sheet (S2) is grasped by the laterally movingchucks (83) and (84) to be fully pulled out in the width direction alongthe lateral rail (81). Thereafter, the lateral sheet (S2) is cut into agiven length by the cutter (90) and a cut piece (108) is passed to thelongitudinal moving chucks (85) and (86). After the laterally movingchucks (83) and (84) are returned to their original position, thelongitudinal moving chucks (85) and (86) move toward the heating rolls(4) along the longitudinal rail (82) and the cut piece (108) is suppliedto a position (73) where the longitudinal sheet (S1) starts to contactthe heating rolls (4).

Thereafter, the longitudinal moving chucks (85) and (86) also return totheir original position. This process is repeatedly performed. The nextcut piece of the lateral sheet (S2) is supplied in such a manner thatthe tip of the cut piece in the longitudinal direction is jointed to theterminal end of the previous cut piece in the longitudinal direction.This makes it possible to connect a great number of the cut pieces forthe lateral sheet to each other continuously.

The lateral sheet (S2) wherein a great number of the cut pieces arecontinuously connected is inserted between the heating rolls (4) and thelongitudinal sheet (S1) and pressed by them. The lateral sheet (S2),together with the longitudinal sheet (S1), is carried along theperipheral face of the heating rolls (4), and the longitudinal sheet(S1) and the lateral sheet (S2) are heated. Further the longitudinalsheet (S1) and the lateral sheet (S2) are compressed on the corematerial (C) at a contact portion (72) between the core material (C) andthe heating rolls (4), to produce a face material sheet in an orthogonalform.

After the thermocompression, a cooling roll, an air cooler or the likemay be arranged right at the lower stream of the heating rolls (4) ifnecessary.

Another lateral sheet supplying means is illustrated in FIGS. 16(a) to16(d). In this example, an upper belt (100) is stretched on an upperheating roll (4) and three upper cooling rolls (5). A lower belt (100)is stretched on a lower heating roll (4) and three lower cooling rolls(5). The respective belts (100) are driven at the same speed by thedriving of the heating rolls (4). As illustrated in FIGS. 16(a), 16(b),and 16(c), a large number of holes (101) for attracting are made atportions outer than the width of the longitudinal sheet (S1) in thebelts (100), and the lower face of the belts (100) is provided with avacuum device (102). The vacuum device (102) is made of a hollow airchamber or a sintered metal, and is connected to a vacuum pump (103)outside the belts.

A mechanism for pulling out the lateral sheet (S2) is the same describedon the basis of FIGS. 15(a) to 15(c).

As illustrated in FIGS. 16(c) and 16(d), a pair of the lateral sheets(S2) is fully pulled out in the width direction by chucks (105) and(107), and then is hold by the chucks (105) and (107) and chucks (104)and (106). The pair is then cut by a cutting device (109). The resultantpair of cut pieces (108) is attracted by attracting devices (110) and(111). Thereafter, the chucks (105) and (107) returns to their originalposition. The attracting devices (110) and (111) make an approach to thesurface of the belt (100) by a cylinder (113) for elevation and descent,and the pair of the cut pieces (108) is fixed on the surface of the belt(100) by attracting from the rear face of the belt (100). By stoppingthe attraction of the attracting devices (110) and (111), the lateralsheet (S2) is delivered to the belt (100). This process is repeatedlyperformed. The next cut piece of the lateral sheet is supplied in such amanner that the tip of the cut piece in the longitudinal direction isjointed to the terminal end of the previous cut piece in thelongitudinal direction. This makes it possible to connect a great numberof the cut pieces for the lateral sheet to each other continuously.

The lateral sheet (S2) wherein a great number of the cut pieces arecontinuously connected is supplied at a position (73) where thelongitudinal sheet (S1) starts to contact the heating rolls (4) by thebelts (100), and inserted between the heating rolls (4) and thelongitudinal sheet (S1) and pressed by them. The lateral sheet (S2),together with the longitudinal sheet (S1), is carried along theperipheral face of the heating rolls (4), and the longitudinal sheet(S1) and the lateral sheet (S2) are heated and further the longitudinalsheet (S1) and the lateral sheet (S2) are compressed on the corematerial (C) at a contact portion (72) between the core material (C) andthe heating rolls (4) to produce a face material sheet in an orthogonalform.

In this way, produced are continuously laminated composites wherein theface material in a longitudinal and laterally orthogonal form, having awidth of 1000 mm, is laminated on the core material having a thicknessof 10 mm and a width of 1200 mm.

EXAMPLE 12

The production device for a laminated composite of this Example (theproduction device of claim 13) is an embodiment different from thelongitudinal sheet supplying means and the lateral sheet supplying sheetof Example 11. As illustrated in FIG. 17(a), a pair of upper and lowerlongitudinal sheet supplying means each has a first reel (45) forsupplying an upper longitudinal sheet wherein narrow longitudinal sheets(S5) are arranged in parallel at intervals of a lateral directiondistance corresponding to the width of the single narrow longitudinalsheet (S5), and a second reel (46) for supplying a lower longitudinalsheet wherein narrow longitudinal sheets (S6) are arranged to be shiftedfrom the narrow longitudinal sheets (S5) of the upper longitudinal sheetin the lateral direction by the interval corresponding to the width ofthe single narrow longitudinal sheet. The upper longitudinal sheet andthe lower longitudinal sheet are supplied to be arranged alternately inthe lateral direction. A lateral sheet supplying means is a means forsupplying lateral sheets (S2) successively between the upperlongitudinal sheet supplied from the first reel (45) and the lowerlongitudinal sheet supplied from the second reel (46), so as to bearranged in parallel.

In the production method for a laminated composite of this Example (theproduction method of claim 14) a longitudinal sheet supplying step is astep of arranging the upper longitudinal sheet and the lowerlongitudinal sheet alternately in the lateral direction so as to besupplied, and a lateral sheet supplying step is a step of supplying thelateral sheets successively between the upper longitudinal sheet and thelower longitudinal sheet so as to be arranged in parallel.

The lateral sheet supplying means is the same as the lateral sheetsupplying device (3) illustrated in FIGS. 15(a) to 15(c). At a positionwhere the narrow longitudinal sheets (S5) and (S6) start to contactheating rolls (4) of a sheet thermocompression-bonding means, a cutpiece (108) of the lateral sheet (S2) can be supplied between the narrowlongitudinal sheets (S5) and (S6).

According to the production device of this Example, as illustrated inFIG. 17(b), the narrow longitudinal sheets (S5) of the lowerlongitudinal sheet are first supplied onto the core material (C), andthe cut piece (108) of the lateral sheet is supplied onto this.Furthermore, the narrow longitudinal sheets (S6) of the upperlongitudinal sheet are supplied onto the lateral sheets (S2). This iscontinuously repeated, thereby obtaining a laminated composite havinguniformity in reinforcing-strength in the longitudinal direction and thelateral direction, wherein the narrow longitudinal sheets (S5) and (S6)and the lateral sheets (S2) are alternately woven.

EXAMPLE 13

As a core material, a polypropylene foamed body having a foamingmagnification of 10 times, a thickness of 10 mm and a width of 1200 mmwas used. As a sheet for a face material, a polyethylene drawn sheethaving a thickness of 0.2 mm and a width of 1000 mm and a polyethylenedrawn sheet having a thickness of 0.2 mm and a width of 300 mm wereused.

As illustrated in FIGS. 18(a) and 18(b), the production device for alaminated composite of this Example (the production device of claim 15)includes a core supplying means for supplying a core material (C) in thelongitudinal direction, a longitudinal sheet supplying means forsupplying a longitudinal sheet (S1) for a face material in thelongitudinal direction onto at least one face of the core material (C),a lateral sheet supplying means for supplying a lateral sheet (S2) forthe face material in the lateral direction onto the upper or lower faceof the longitudinal sheet (S1), a sheet thermocompression-bonding meansfor pressing the longitudinal sheet and the lateral sheet, stacked in anorthogonal form, against the core material under heating, a suction roll(an example of an attracting roll) (120) set at a position where thelongitudinal sheet (S1) starts to contact a heating roll (4) of thesheet thermocompression-bonding means, and a single sheet supplyingmeans for supplying cut pieces (121) of the lateral sheet (S2) one byone to the suction roll (120).

The method for producing a laminated composite of this Example (theproduction method of claim 16) includes a core supplying step ofsupplying a core material (C) in the longitudinal direction, alongitudinal sheet supplying step of supplying a longitudinal sheet (S1)for a face material in the longitudinal direction onto at least one faceof the core material (C), a lateral sheet supplying step of supplying alateral sheet (S2) for the face material in the lateral direction ontothe upper face of the longitudinal-sheet (S1), a sheetthermocompression-bonding step of pressing the longitudinal sheet andthe lateral sheet, stacked in an orthogonal form, against the corematerial under heating, wherein the lateral sheet supplying stepincludes a single sheet supplying step of supplying cut pieces of thelateral sheet (S2) one by one to an attracting roll (4) set at aposition where the longitudinal sheet (S1) starts to contact the heatingroll (4) during the sheet thermocompression-bonding step.

In FIG. 18(a), the core material (c) is supplied to a device frame (119)in which heating rolls (4) are positioned at a line speed of 1 m/minuteby supplying rolls (1) of the core material supplying means, and is thenheated and pressed by the heating rolls (4) having a diameter of 300 mmand a clearance of 10 mm.

Next, in the same way as in Example 10, the longitudinal sheet is pulledout from reels (2) of a pair of upper and lower longitudinal sheetsupplying means, carried along the periphery of suction rolls (120)arranged outside the heating rolls (4) and further along the peripheryof the heating rolls (4) so as to be passed between the core material(C) and the heating rolls (4), and pressed by the rolls (4). As aresult, the core material (C) and the longitudinal sheet (S1) are meltedand bonded to each other.

The single sheet supplying means has a structure as illustrated in FIGS.19(a) to 19(f). That is, the lateral sheet is beforehand cut to have anecessary width. The resultant cut pieces (121) in large numbers are putin a cassette (122). One of the cut pieces (121) is pulled out from thecassette (122) and reversed at 180° by an attracting and carrying device(123), to be supplied to suction rolls (120). Thereafter, the attractingand carrying device (123) is returned to its original position. Thisoperation is repeatedly performed. As illustrated in FIG. 18(b), a greatnumber of holes (124) are made at portions outer than the width of thelongitudinal sheet (S1) in the suction rolls (120). The cut pieces (121)are attracted from the carrying device through the holes (124). Thelateral sheet (S2) made of the cut pieces (121) in large numbers,together with the longitudinal sheet (S1), is fed to the heating rolls(4), supplied between the heating rolls (4) and the longitudinal sheet(S1) at a position (73) where the longitudinal sheet (S1) starts tocontact the heating rolls (4), carried along the periphery of theheating rolls (4) in the same manner as in Example 11 to be fed togetherwith the longitudinal sheet (S1), and pressed at a contact portion (127)between the heating rolls (4) and the core material (C) under heating.As a result, the lateral sheet (S2) and the longitudinal sheet (S1) aremelted and bonded to the core material (C).

The step of supplying the lateral sheet (S2) to the suction roll will bedescribed in detail on the basis of FIGS. 19(a) to 19(f). As illustratedin FIG. 19(a), the lateral sheet (S2) is first cut to have a necessarywidth, and the resultant cut pieces in large numbers are put in thecassette (122). A pushing spring is set on the bottom of the cassette(122). Thus, as the cut pieces decrease, the cut pieces are successivelypushed out toward the top from the bottom so that each of cut pieces(121) is easily caught by the attracting type carrying device (144). Aninward projection (142) is formed at an outlet portion of the cassette(122) so that the cut pieces (121) are stopped.

Next, an attracting section (145) of the attracting type carrying device(144) connected to a vacuum pump (143) goes to take up one of the cutpieces (121) at the outlet of the cassette (122) and contacts the cutpiece (121). At this time, the vacuum pump (143) acts to attract thiscut piece (121).

Next, as illustrated in FIG. 19(c), the attracting section (145) isrotated at 180° by a servo motor (146) fitted to the carrying device(144), to carry the cut piece (121) at a position parallel to thesurface of the suction roll (120) (FIG. 19(c)).

As illustrated in FIGS. 19(d) and 19(e), a great number of holes (124)are made at portions outer than the width of the longitudinal sheet (S1)in the suction rolls (120). The cut piece (121) is attracted through theholes (124) by attracting force of the vacuum pump (125). The cut piece(121) is moved from the carrying device (144) toward the suction roll(120) by weakening the attracting force of the carrying device (144).Thereafter, the attracting and carrying device (123) is returned to itsoriginal position. This operation is repeated.

The supply of the lateral sheets (S2) may be continuously performed asillustrated in FIG. 19(f). A mechanism for the continuous supply is thesame as in Example 9.

As illustrated in FIG. 20, a great number of narrow longitudinal sheets(S1) maybe sent out in a hound-tooth check form. In other words, it isallowable that the sheets are composed of sheets (161) supplied to thesuction roll (160) in the feed direction and sheets (162) supplied inthe reverse feed direction, only the former embrace the suction roll(160), and the latter embrace another intermediate roll, therebysupplying the longitudinal sheets to the heating rolls (4). In thismethod, attracting holes (164) can be made in the entire surface of thesuction rolls (160) in the width direction.

In this way, produced are continuously laminated composites illustratedin FIG. 4 wherein the face material in a longitudinal and laterallyorthogonal form, having a width of 1000 mm, is laminated on the corematerial having a thickness of 10 mm and a width of 1200 mm.

EXAMPLE 14

As illustrated in FIG. 21, the production device for a laminatedcomposite of this Example (the production method of claim 17) includes acore material supplying means for supplying a core material (C) in thelongitudinal direction, a longitudinal sheet supplying means forsupplying a longitudinal sheet (S1) for a face material, in thelongitudinal direction, onto at least one face of the core material (C),a first thermocompression-bonding means for pressing the longitudinalsheet (S1)and the core material (C) under heating to form anintermediate lamination, a first cutting means for cutting theintermediate lamination, a carrying means for carrying cut pieces (L1)of the intermediate lamination in a direction having a given angle (90°in the present Example) to the longitudinal direction, a lateral sheetsupplying means for supplying a lateral sheet (S2) for the facematerial, in the carriage direction, onto the upper face or the lowerface of the cut pieces (L1), a second thermocompression-bonding meansfor pressing the cut pieces (L1) of the intermediate lamination and thelateral sheet (S2), which are stacked, under heating to form a finallamination (L2), and a second cutting means for cutting the finallamination (L2).

The production method for a laminated composite of this Example (theproduction method of claim 18) includes a core material supplying stepof supplying a core material (C) in a longitudinal direction, alongitudinal sheet supplying step of supplying a longitudinal sheet (S1)for a face material, in the longitudinal direction, onto at least oneface of the core material (C); a first thermocompression-bonding step ofpressing the longitudinal sheet (S1) and the core material (C) underheating to form an intermediate lamination (L1), a first cutting step ofcutting the intermediate lamination, a carrying step of carrying cutpieces (L1) of the intermediate lamination in a direction having a givenangle (90° in the present Example) to the longitudinal direction, alateral sheet supplying step of supplying a lateral sheet (L2) for theface material, in the carriage direction, onto the upper face or thelower face of the cut pieces (L1) of the intermediate lamination, asecond thermocompression-bonding step of stacking and pressing theintermediate lamination (L1) and the lateral sheet (S2) under heating toform a final lamination (L2), and a second cutting step of cutting thefinal lamination (L2).

In these Examples, the core material supplying means and thelongitudinal sheet supplying means are the same as in Example 9, and thefirst thermocompression-bonding means is the same as thethermocompression-bonding means in Example 9. About the first cuttingmeans, its structure itself is the same as that of the cutting means inExample 9 but the arrangement position thereof is not just after thelateral sheet supplying means but just after threatening rolls (4) asthe thermocompression-bonding means. Only by adhering the longitudinalsheet (S1) to the core material (C), an intermediate lamination cut intoa constant size is first formed. This intermediate lamination is sentout in the advance direction (in the longitudinal direction), and runsoff from the carrying line in the longitudinal direction. Thereafter,the lamination is carried in the lateral direction by a cylinder (55).

The lateral sheet supplying means for pulling out the lateral sheet (S2)to the upper face of the cut pieces (L1) of the intermediate laminationhas the same structure as the longitudinal sheet supplying means.Namely, this means is composed of a reel (56) on which the lateral sheet(S2) is wound, and a pushing roll (57) for pushing, against theintermediate lamination, the lateral sheet (S2) pulled out from the reel(56) to the surface of the intermediate lamination along this. Thispulling-out direction is different from the longitudinal sheet supplyingmeans by 90°. In this way, the lateral sheet (S2) is supplied andthermocompression-bonded in the same manner as the longitudinal sheet(S1) while the cut pieces (L1) of the intermediate lamination move inthe lateral direction.

The second thermocompression-bonding means has the same structure as thefirst thermocompression-bonding means. Namely, the second means has apair of heating rolls (58). By heating and pressing the cut pieces (L1)of the intermediate lamination and the lateral sheet (S2), which arestacked, a final lamination (L2) is formed. About the final lamination(L2), the lateral sheet (S2) portion thereof is cut at positionscorresponding to size of the respective cut pieces (L1) of theintermediate lamination by the second cutting means.

In this way, produced are continuously laminated composites illustratedin FIG. 4 wherein the face material in a longitudinal and laterallyorthogonal form, having a width of 1000 mm, is laminated on the corematerial having a thickness of 10 mm and a width of 1200 mm.

EXAMPLE 15

As illustrated in FIG. 22, the production device for a laminatedcomposite of this Example (the production device of claim 19) includes acore material supplying means for supplying a core material (C) in thelongitudinal direction, a longitudinal sheet supplying means forsupplying a longitudinal sheet (S1) for a face material, in thelongitudinal direction, onto at least one face of the core material, afirst thermocompression-bonding means for pressing the longitudinalsheet (S1) and the core material (C) under heating to form anintermediate lamination, a first cutting means for cutting theintermediate lamination, a carrying means for rotating cut pieces (L1)of the intermediate lamination at an angle of 90° to carry the cutpieces in the longitudinal direction, a lateral sheet supplying meansfor supplying a lateral sheet (S2) for the face material, in thelongitudinal direction, onto the upper face or the lower face of the cutpieces (L1), a second thermocompression-bonding means for pressing thecut pieces (L1) of the intermediate lamination and the lateral sheet(S2), which are stacked, under heating to form a final lamination (L2),and a second cutting means for cutting the final lamination (L2).

The production method for a laminated composite of this Example (theproduction method of claim 20) includes a core material supplying stepof supplying a core material (C) in the longitudinal direction, alongitudinal sheet supplying step of supplying a longitudinal sheet (S1)for a face material, in the longitudinal direction, onto at least oneface of the core material (C), a first thermocompression-bonding step ofpressing the longitudinal sheet (S1) and the core material (C) underheating to form an intermediate lamination, a first cutting step ofcutting the intermediate lamination, a carrying step of rotating cutpieces (L1) of the intermediate lamination at an angle of 90° to carrythe cut pieces in the longitudinal direction, a lateral sheet supplyingstep of supplying a lateral sheet (L2) for the face material, in thelongitudinal direction, onto the upper face or the lower face of the cutpieces (L1), a second thermocompression-bonding step of stacking andpressing the cut pieces (L1) of the intermediate lamination and thelateral sheet (S2) under heating to form a final lamination (L2), and asecond cutting step of cutting the final lamination (L2).

In this Example, the core material supplying means and the longitudinalsheet supplying means are the same as in Example 9, and the firstthermocompression-bonding means is the same as thethermocompression-bonding means in Example 9. About the first cuttingmeans, its structure itself is the same as that of the cutting means inExample 9 but the arrangement position thereof is not just after thelateral sheet supplying means but just after the heating rolls (4) asthe thermocompression-bonding means. Only by adhering the longitudinalsheet (S1) to the core material (C), an intermediate lamination cut intoa constant size is first formed. This intermediate lamination is sentout in the advance direction (in the longitudinal direction), and thedirection is rotated at 90° by attracting pads (61). Furthermore, theintermediate lamination is continuously carried in a carrying line alongthe longitudinal direction.

The lateral sheet supplying means for pulling out the lateral sheet(S2), in the longitudinal direction, onto the upper face of the cutpieces (L1) of the intermediate lamination has the same structure and asthe longitudinal sheet supplying means. Namely, this means is composedof a reel (62) on which the lateral sheet (S2) is wound, and a pushingroll (63) for pushing, against the intermediate lamination, the lateralsheet (S2) pulled out from the reel (62) to the surface of theintermediate lamination along this. The pulling-out direction is alsothe same as in the case of the longitudinal sheet supplying means. Inthis way, the lateral sheet (S2) is supplied andthermocompression-bonded in the same manner as the longitudinal sheet(S1) while the cut pieces (L1) of the intermediate lamination move inthe longitudinal direction.

The second thermocompression-bonding means has the same structure as thefirst thermocompression-bonding means. Namely, the second means has apair of heating rolls (64). By heating and pressing the cut pieces (L1)of the intermediate lamination and the lateral sheet (S2), which arestacked, the final lamination (L2) is formed. About the final lamination(L2), the lateral sheet (S2) portion thereof is cut at positionscorresponding to size of the respective cut pieces (L1) of theintermediate lamination by the second cutting means.

In this way, produced are continuously laminated composites illustratedin FIG. 4 wherein the face material in a longitudinal and laterallyorthogonal form, having a width of 1000 mm, is laminated on the corematerial having a thickness of 10 mm and a width of 1200 mm.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

A device and a method for producing a laminated composite according tothe present invention are those for laminating at least one sheet on atleast one face of a sheet-form core material, and can be used as aproduction method and a production device for obtaining a civilengineering and construction material, a construction material includinga tatami mat core material, a material for vehicles, and the like.

1.-8. (canceled)
 9. A device for producing a laminated composite bylaminating a longitudinal sheet and a lateral sheet on at least one faceof a core material, comprising: core supplying means for supplying thecore material in a longitudinal direction; longitudinal sheet supplyingmeans for supplying the longitudinal sheet for a face material in thelongitudinal direction onto at least one face of the core material;lateral sheet supplying means for supplying the lateral sheet for theface material in a lateral direction onto the upper or lower face of thelongitudinal sheet; and sheet thermocompression-bonding means forpressing the longitudinal sheet and the lateral sheet stacked in anorthogonal form against the core material under heating.
 10. A methodfor producing a laminated composite by laminating a longitudinal sheetand a lateral sheet on at least one face of a core material, comprising:a core supplying step of supplying the core material in a longitudinaldirection, a longitudinal sheet supplying step of supplying thelongitudinal sheet for a face material in the longitudinal directiononto at least one face of the core material; a lateral sheet supplyingstep of supplying the lateral sheet for the face material in a lateraldirection onto the upper or lower face of the longitudinal sheet; and asheet thermocompression-bonding step of pressing the longitudinal sheetand the lateral sheet stacked in an orthogonal form against the corematerial under heating.
 11. The device for producing a laminatedcomposite according to claim 9, wherein at a position where thelongitudinal sheet starts to contact a heating roll of the sheetthermocompression-bonding means the lateral sheet supplying meanssupplies a cut piece of the lateral sheet between the heating roll andthe longitudinal sheet.
 12. The method for producing a laminatedcomposite according to claim 10, further comprising: a lateral sheetsupplying step of supplying a cut piece of the lateral sheet between aheating roll and the longitudinal sheet at a position where thelongitudinal sheet starts to contact the heating roll during the sheetthermocompression-bonding step.
 13. The device for producing a laminatedcomposite according to claim 9 or 11, wherein the longitudinal sheetsupplying means is means for supplying upper side longitudinal sheetsand lower side longitudinal sheets to be arranged alternatively in thelateral direction, and the lateral sheet supplying means is means forsupplying plural lateral sheets successively between the upper sidelongitudinal sheets and the lower side longitudinal sheets so as to bearranged in parallel.
 14. The method for producing a laminated compositeaccording to claim 10 or 12, wherein the longitudinal sheet supplyingstep is a step of supplying upper side longitudinal sheets and lowerside longitudinal sheets to be arranged alternatively in the lateraldirection, and the lateral sheet supplying step is a step of supplyingplural lateral sheets successively between the upper side longitudinalsheets and the lower side longitudinal sheets so as to be arranged inparallel.
 15. The device for producing a laminated composite accordingto claim 9, 11 or 13, wherein the lateral sheet supplying means includesan attracting roll set at a position where the longitudinal sheet startsto contact the heating roll of the sheet thermocompression-bondingmeans, and single sheet supplying means for supplying cut pieces of thelateral sheet one by one to the attracting roll.
 16. The method forproducing a laminated composite according to claim 10, 12 or 14, whereinthe lateral sheet supplying step includes a single sheet supplying stepof supplying cut pieces of the lateral sheet one by one to an attractingroll set at a position where the longitudinal sheet starts to contactthe heating roll during the sheet thermocompression-bonding step.
 17. Adevice producing a laminated composite by laminating a longitudinalsheet and a lateral sheet on at least one face of a core material,comprising: core material supplying means for supplying the corematerial in a longitudinal direction; longitudinal sheet supplying meansfor supplying the longitudinal sheet for a face material, in thelongitudinal direction, onto at least one face of the core material;first thermocompression-bonding means for pressing the longitudinalsheet and the core material under heating to form an intermediatelamination; first cutting means for cutting the intermediate lamination;carrying means for carrying cut pieces of the intermediate lamination ina direction having a given angle to the longitudinal direction; lateralsheet supplying means for supplying the lateral sheet for the facematerial, in the carriage direction, onto the upper face or the lowerface of the cut pieces; second thermocompression-bonding means forpressing the cut pieces of the intermediate lamination and the lateralsheet, which are stacked, under heating to form a final lamination; andsecond cutting means for cutting the final lamination.
 18. A method forproducing a laminated composite by laminating a longitudinal sheet and alateral sheet on at least one face of a core material, comprising: acore material supplying step of supplying the core material in alongitudinal direction; a longitudinal sheet supplying step of supplyingthe longitudinal sheet for a face material, in the longitudinaldirection, onto at least one face of the core material; a firstthermocompression-bonding step of pressing the longitudinal sheet andthe core material under heating to form an intermediate lamination; afirst cutting step of cutting the intermediate lamination; a carryingstep of carrying cut pieces of the intermediate lamination in adirection having a given angle to the longitudinal direction; a lateralsheet supplying step of supplying the lateral sheet for the facematerial, in the carriage direction, onto the upper face or the lowerface of the cut pieces; a second thermocompression-bonding step ofstacking and pressing the cut pieces of the intermediate lamination andthe lateral sheet under heating to form a final lamination; and a secondcutting step of cutting the final lamination.
 19. A device for producinga laminated composite by laminating a longitudinal sheet and a lateralsheet on at least one face of a core material, comprising: core materialsupplying means for supplying the core material in a longitudinaldirection; longitudinal sheet supplying means for supplying thelongitudinal sheet for a face material, in the longitudinal direction,onto at least one face of the core material; firstthermocompression-bonding means for pressing the longitudinal sheet andthe core material under heating to form an intermediate lamination;first cutting means for cutting the intermediate lamination; carryingmeans for rotating cut pieces of the intermediate lamination at an angleof 90° to carry the cut pieces in the longitudinal direction; lateralsheet supplying means for supplying the lateral sheet for the facematerial, in the longitudinal direction, onto the upper face or thelower face of the cut pieces; second thermocompression-bonding means forpressing the cut pieces of the intermediate lamination and the lateralsheet, which are stacked, under heating to form a final lamination; andsecond cutting means for cutting the final lamination.
 20. A method forproducing a laminated composite by laminating a longitudinal sheet and alateral sheet on at least one face of a core material, comprising: acore material supplying step of supplying the core material in alongitudinal direction; a longitudinal sheet supplying step of supplyingthe longitudinal sheet for a face material, in the longitudinaldirection, onto at least one face of the core material; a firstthermocompression-bonding step of pressing the longitudinal sheet andthe core material under heating to form an intermediate lamination; afirst cutting step of cutting the intermediate lamination; a carryingstep of rotating cut pieces of the intermediate lamination at an angleof 90° to carry the cut pieces in the longitudinal direction; a lateralsheet supplying step of supplying the lateral sheet for the facematerial, in the longitudinal direction, onto the upper face or thelower face of the cut pieces; a second thermocompression-bonding step ofstacking and pressing the cut pieces of the intermediate lamination andthe lateral sheet under heating to form a final lamination; and a secondcutting step of cutting the final lamination.